JournalistWriter

2008-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

Federal Grand Jury Issues Subpoenas for Criminal Investigation by IRS’ Major Fraud Division Regarding Emergen-C Vitamin Supplement Founder Alacer Corporation’s Estate Tax Return

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Justice Department recently issued grand jury subpoenas for a criminal investigation into the filing of the Estate Tax Return 706 for the Estate of Jay Patrick as filed by Ronald Patrick, Edward H. Stone, Esq. and Donald Sammons. This is the latest chapter in trust litigation that started when Alacer Corporation Founder Jay Patrick died in February 2003. The plaintiff in the litigation, Ymelda T. Patrick, is represented by Jillyn Hess-Verdon, of the Newport Beach law firm of Hess-Verdon & Associates, PLC.

At the center of the litigation and investigation is the stock of Alacer Corporation. Alacer, located in Orange County, CA, is well known as the maker of Emergen-C Vitamin Supplements.

The company was built from the ground up by Jay Patrick and his widow, Ymelda T. Patrick, starting out in their kitchen and ending up with several manufacturing and distribution plants in Orange County and an empire valued at over $85 million dollars.

When Jay Patrick died, his Trust owned the stock of Alacer. Right after his death, his wife Ymelda was fired from her position as Vice President, all financial support she and her husband had received was terminated and she was ousted from the company by the other three Trustees (James D. Turner, Esq. – Jay’s attorney; Thaddeus Smith – Jay’s insurance agent; and Ronald Patrick – Ymelda’s stepson).

Ymelda Patrick was also a co-trustee of the Trust and the largest single beneficiary and continued as a director of Alacer until early 2005. Mrs. Patrick had been with the company longer than anyone else in management at the company; yet when she was fired the other trustees elected themselves to corporate management positions at salaries higher than Jay or Ymelda Patrick had ever received over the almost thirty years they had run the company.

James D. Turner, Esq. (of Palm Desert) had drafted Jay Patrick’s Will and Trust when Jay was almost 90 years old. Mr. Turner was named as the Executor in the Will and one of the co-trustees of the Trust. When Jay Patrick died, attorney Turner served as a co-trustee of the Trust. He also became a director of Alacer and the Chairman of the Board, appointed his own law firm as corporate counsel, and served on the compensation and litigation committees.

At the end of 2003 Mrs. Patrick sued the directors (who were the same as the three trustees) in a shareholder derivative suit, asserting that they had breached their duties as directors of Alacer by hiring themselves as corporate officers and paying themselves excessive salaries when they had no experience running a company like Alacer. The lawsuit took three years to get to trial and the defendant directors used Alacer’s funds to defend themselves. They also continued to take salaries equivalent for full-time employment while Mrs. Patrick and the family members, who are beneficiaries of the Trust, have received nothing for almost five years.

“I have been disappointed in the attorneys in this case,” said Mrs. Patrick’s attorney, Jillyn Hess-Verdon, of the Newport Beach law firm of Hess-Verdon & Associates, PLC. “In my 17 years of trust and business legal work the personal attacks against Mrs. Patrick, and the disregard for Jay Patrick’s express wishes, have been some of the worst I have ever seen. I expected a lot more from the large Orange County firms defending the trustees and have been disappointed.”

“It has been almost five years since my husband died and none of them care about the business Jay and I poured our lives into,” said Mrs. Patrick. “Instead they just spent the last four years attacking me and preventing the family from inheriting….they even sued me for a portrait of my husband that I had commissioned after he died.”

In 2004 Mrs. Patrick filed a lawsuit in the Probate Department of the Orange County Superior Court for failing to account to the beneficiaries and failing to administer the Trust to the beneficiaries. The other co-trustees refused to distribute the shares from the Trust to the family, claiming that the estate taxes had to be paid to the IRS first.

The Estate Tax Return was filed by Ronald Patrick (Ymelda’s stepson), Edward H. Stone, Esq. (of Newport Beach) and Donald Sammons (a former IRS Gift & Estate Tax supervisor) in 2004. When Mrs. Patrick asked for a copy Ronald Patrick and his attorneys refused her request. When Mrs. Patrick obtained a copy of the Return 706 directly from the IRS she saw that the value of the Company reported to the IRS was only $2 million dollars and that zero taxes would be owed.

Several offers had been presented to the trustees immediately following Jay Patrick’s death for at least $20 million dollars. Therefore, Mrs. Patrick also filed a Tax Petition with the Probate Court asking for the court to order the Trustees to obtain an independent appraisal of the Company’s date of death value and to amend the 706 Return, since the beneficiaries of the Trust would be the ones to eventually owe the estate taxes and additional penalties and interest for the delay.

Both lawsuits were consolidated and went to trial in September 2006 before Judge David Thompson.

David Baram, of VMG Equity (and also President of “The Firm,” the largest entertainment management company in the world) testified at trial that he had tried to make offers to purchase the company for a nine figure sum which was ignored by Attorney James D. Turner.

At trial, one of Ronald Patrick’s attorneys Edward H. Stone, Esq. of Newport Beach – who also signed the tax return - told Judge Thompson that Mrs. Patrick’s request to amend the 706 Return, “can’t be done. There is no right to amend,” he said. (p. 517 court transcripts).

Additionally, James Turner’s lawyer, Gary Lape, Esq. from Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, Costa Mesa, stated at trial, “…without saying who is supposedly wrong or defrauded. I guess it was the Internal Revenue Service. One might say, ‘God Bless’.” (p. 586 court transcripts).

James Turner, Esq. testified at trial that he and others knew the stated company value was incorrect.

Judge Thompson ruled that:

the 706 Return could not be amended;
that Mrs. Patrick’s co-trustees had no duty to account;
that co-trustees multiple roles and conflicts of interest were not a basis to remove them as trustees;
that the beneficiaries were not entitled to know what the Trustees were being paid in their corporate capacities; and
that Mrs. Patrick should be removed as a trustee because her interest as a beneficiary created a conflict with her role as a trustee.

Mrs. Patrick’s derivative law suit was dismissed because Judge Thompson ruled that even though she is a trustee, spouse and beneficiary, she did not have standing to bring a derivative action against the directors.

Mrs. Patrick has appealed Judge Thompson’s rulings on both lawsuits. Her appeal asserts among other things that his rulings are reversible error, because:

IRS Estate Tax Form 706 (page 1 and page 2) expressly states that the tax return can be amended, and
because the law requires a tax return to be amended when it states false information.

Ms. Hess-Verdon commented on Judge Thompson’s rulings on the estate tax issues: “We believe the Appellate Court will see it the same way as the Department of Justice and the IRS see it.”

“The law requires Trustees to account to a co-trustee and to beneficiaries,” explains Ms. Hess-Verdon. “The co-trustees’ conflicts of interest were overwhelming and actually caused financial profit to them at detriment to the Trust, which under California law requires their removal.”

When Mrs. Patrick received notice of the Grand Jury Subpoenas investigating the Estate Tax Return for criminal fraud, she went to the Probate Court in Orange County seeking the suspension of the co-trustees during the investigation - asking for the protection of Alacer and Trust funds from being depleted by them during the criminal investigation.

Judge Marjorie Laird Carter of the Orange County Probate Court denied the request for suspension at this stage, but granted the request for protection and ordered that the co-trustees could not use Alacer or Trust funds to pay for attorneys’ fees or trustee fees without prior court order.

ABOUT HESS-VERDON & ASSOCIATES

Based in Newport Beach, CA, Hess-Verdon & Associates, A Professional Law Corporation, has been advising high net-worth individuals and corporate executives regarding estate tax and corporate matters since 1990. the firm is located in Fashion Island in Newport Beach, California. The legal expertise of the firm includes an Estate Planning Division, a Real Estate Division, and a Business Division. Jillyn Hess-Verdon is a member of the California State Bar and the Federal District Court. Ms. Hess-Verdon was also admitted to the United States Supreme Court, a rare and distinguished accomplishment among attorneys nationwide. Ms. Hess-Verdon has taught at the graduate level and is a noted lecturer.

Contacts

Hess-Verdon & Associates, PLC
Jillyn Hess-Verdon, Attorney at Law
949-706-7300
jverdon@mylawpro.com
www.hessverdon.com
or
Media Contact:
Sara Pentz, 949-719-0902
sara@sarapentz.com

Company Information Center

2008-01-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Schools for Individualists
TNI Exclusive Interview
by Sara Pentz

Marsha Familaro Enright has been attracted by the pleasures and problems of education since the third grade. Trained in biology and psychology, she has written research articles on psychology, neuropsychology, development, and education for a number of publications. She founded the Council Oak Montessori School near Chicago in 1990 and has served as its president since then. Recently, as founder and president of the Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute, Marsha and her colleagues have been developing a new college informed by the Montessori Method, the Great Books, Ayn Rand’s ideas, and classical liberalism. Information about that project can be found at its website, www.rifinst.org. Marsha also contributes articles and reviews to The New Individualist, including popular profiles of famous authors such as James Clavell, Cameron Hawley, and Tom Wolfe. Recently, she spent time with TNI contributing writer Sara Pentz to discuss the state of modern education, the prospects for its reform, and her own college project.

TNI: How did you get into the field of education?

Marsha Enright: When I was a kid, I loved school and I loved to learn. I looked forward to it everyday. But I was frustrated by the many kids around me who were miserable in school and often disrupted things. There was a lot of teasing and ridicule. I did not understand why that was happening, especially why the smart kids were not interested in learning. I vowed to myself that I would find a system of education that would really support kids in their learning and be a good environment for my own kids when I grew up. That is how I got interested in education.

But, ironically, that is not what I decided to go into when I went to college. At first, I wanted to be a doctor, like my dad. I was a biology undergraduate. After a while, I got interested in psychology, and toward the end of my college years, I decided that that was really where most of my interest lay. So I went on to graduate school and got a Masters in psychology at the New School for Social Research.

In high school, I read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and got very interested in her ideas. And in one of her journals, The Objectivist, there were some articles about the system of education called the Montessori Method. They were by a woman named Beatrice Hessen; I think she owned her own Montessori school. When I read those articles, I said, “Wow, this sounds like a fantastic system.” I read all the books that I could get my hands on about the Montessori Method, and I visited many Montessori schools to observe how they worked. I determined that that was what I wanted for my children.

So, when I started having my children in the early 1980s, I looked around for a Montessori school. There was one in the neighborhood for pre-school, three- to six-year-olds. I put my kids there, and I was very happy with it. When it came time for elementary school for my son, I found a Montessori school in a nearby suburb that he went to for three years, but then it closed. I wanted to make sure that he and my other children could continue in Montessori, so I organized some of the other parents to open a Montessori school in our neighborhood. And that is how I got started as an educator, running Council Oak Montessori School in Chicago.

TNI: What interested you about Maria Montessori and her approach?

Enright: Montessori was a great scientist. She was trained as a medical doctor, the first woman doctor in Italy, and she approached human learning as a scientist, observing in great detail what children did and trying out different materials and activities with them to see what would work best.

Her method is very concerned with the individual child. She started out working with retarded and autistic children. And she became almost instantly famous around the world in the early part of the twentieth century because, after working with these children for a year and applying her observations and her methods, they were able to pass the exam for normal children.

But while everyone thought this was wonderful, she was thinking, “My gosh, if my poor retarded children can pass the exam for normal children, what is happening if normal children are only being asked to learn up to that level?” That is when she started working with normal children. And there, again, her results were so phenomenal that she gained even more fame.

Because motivation is so important in learning, she focused on the proper conditions to keep that fire burning. If you look at children who are one or two or three, you can see that they have tremendous motivation to learn everything they can—crawling around the floor, putting things in their mouths, looking at every book, following what their moms are doing, imitating. They are just balls of energy when it comes to learning everything they can about the world, about objects in the world, about how to move, how things taste, smell, look, about what people are doing with each other.

Montessori noticed, for example, that if she could get a child to concentrate on an activity and really be involved in it, when the child eventually stopped the activity he would be happy; he would be calm; he would be tired, but in a very contented way. And that would keep him interested. The next day, the child would want to learn and do more. So it became a self-feeding process.

TNI: What, besides motivation, is really important to learning?

Enright: Well, I see learning as acquiring the knowledge and skills that you need to function in the world—to be productive, happy, and successful. Just like a flower: If you put a flower under a rock, it is going to struggle around that rock to try to reach the sun and water, but it is going to become deformed. But if you put it in the right kind of soil with plenty of water and sunshine, it is going to be beautiful and flourishing. A child is like that, too. Montessori called the child “the spiritual embryo.”

TNI: What did she do to nurture that “embryo”?

Enright: Her method became famous in 1907 in Rome when she set up what she called the House of Children—Casa de Bambini—where she worked with slum children. It was a wonderful environment for learning that respected the individual child’s interests and his natural learning tendencies. It used the teacher as a guide to learning and had the children collaborate with each other, but very respectfully.

Their behavior changed so markedly that people came from all over the world to train with her, and soon her method started spreading globally. Alexander Graham Bell’s wife became interested and opened the first Montessori school in the United States in 1912.

TNI: That’s remarkable.

Enright: It was remarkable, because she was able to get three and four year olds to concentrate for long periods of time.

She had a famous example of a little girl working on what is called the knobbed cylinders. It is made of a bar of wood with cylindrical pieces of different widths in it. Each cylinder has a knob on it for grasping, and the child has to take all the cylinders out of the bar and then put them back into the right-sized holes. If they do not put them in all the right-sized holes, then one cylinder is left over, and the child knows that he made a mistake.

This is what we call, in Montessori education, a “self-correcting” material. The goal, as much as possible, is to help the child see for himself if he achieved the goal or not, if he “got the right answer.”

TNI: So they are not constantly being corrected by someone else?

Enright: Exactly. If you want the child to be an independent individual when he reaches adulthood, he has to be able to know on his own when he has achieved something or when he has failed—to judge that independently.

In this example, the girl working on the cylinders was so engrossed in her work that it did not matter that Maria had a crowd of children around her singing, or that she moved her seat around or anything; the child just kept focusing on the cylinders for forty-five minutes.

TNI: That’s impressive.

Enright: You see this in Montessori schools all the time—this incredible concentration, which, interestingly, Montessori figured out back at the turn of the century, was a key to learning and self-motivation. More recent psychological research by professor Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, on the optimal conditions for the most enjoyable kinds of experiences, independently and completely supports her original observations and conclusions. Csikszentmihalyi called this kind of experience of engrossing activity “flow,” because when he first discovered it, he was studying artists in the ’60s who would be totally engaged in what they were doing. And they said, “I’m just in the flow.” They would forget where they were, they would forget what time it was, and they totally enjoyed what they were doing. In sports, it’s “getting in the zone.” When the Montessori people read his books and contacted him, he recognized what was going on in the Montessori classroom—that Maria had created this optimal flow environment for learning.

TNI: And the focus was on the individual.

Enright: Exactly—that we are all individual human beings with human wants and needs.

Montessori schools spread all over the States, and they were spreading all over the world, too, when along came this very influential professor from Columbia University Teachers’ College, William Heard Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick decided to “scientifically” analyze the Montessori Method. He went to some schools, he interviewed her, and he wrote a book called The Montessori System Examined. His book basically gutted the Montessori Method, discrediting it with the academics.

You see, Kilpatrick was a staunch advocate of John Dewey’s “progressive” method of education. Dewey’s method, if you look at its basic principles, is actually almost the opposite of Montessori—although a lot of people think that it is very similar because it emphasizes experiential, “hands on” learning.

For one thing, Dewey opposed the development of the intellect when a child is young; he considered it stifling to the imagination. Whereas Maria said, “Well, you cannot really do imaginative work until your mind has some content.” So, the imaginative work goes hand-in-hand with learning about the world.

In addition, Dewey focused on the socialization of the child. For him, the school was about teaching the child how to get along with other people and be a part of society—this was the crux of his “pedagogic creed.” You can see it in his famous declaration about the purpose of education, first published in The School Journal in January 1897. Dewey wrote, “I believe that the only true education comes through the stimulation of the child’s powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself. Through these demands he is stimulated to act as a member of a unity, to emerge from his original narrowness of action and feeling, and to conceive of himself from the standpoint of the welfare of the group to which he belongs.”

TNI: At that time, there was a big push for socialism in all aspects of our society. Anybody who promoted individualism was in the minority.

Enright: Exactly. Even Montessori herself was, politically, a socialist. I mean, it was generally believed that socialism was the most advanced political point of view. She understandably would have been seduced by all those ideas. That was not her field.

Now Maria Montessori’s method does teach social skills as a conscious element in the curriculum. We call it “the grace and courtesy aspects” of the curriculum. But contrary to Dewey’s approach, hers is about how people properly interact with each other to be productive and happy individuals, in the course of developing their minds.

You can see this in the whole system, starting with the very way that children are allowed to work with the materials in the classroom. They can go to the shelf where the materials are, select something, bring it to their own space defined by a rug or a desk or a table or wherever they wish to sit, and work on it. They can work by themselves with the material as long as they want; the children are taught to try not to disturb each other. They can share the material with the other children if they want to, but they are not forced to. Consequently, what happens is that they tend to be very happy to collaborate with other children.

TNI: How interesting.

Enright: And when they are done, they are required to take the material and put it back on the shelf where it was so that the next child can use it. To me, all of these principles taught in the Montessori classroom train children how to behave in a free society with other responsible individuals.

TNI: I can see that.

Enright: Montessori’s is not a focus on “You must get along with other people no matter what.” The focus is very much on intellectual development, on the individual trying to learn, to develop himself, and to interact in a respectful way. In some respects that is the opposite of the collectivist idea that Dewey had of how we should interact. One result is the consistent reports we get from upper-level teachers and employers that Montessori students stand tall in what they think is right.

Anyway, Kilpatrick said that the Montessori Method was based on an old-fashioned theory of faculty psychology. Now, at that time, 1918, the ascendant theory—the so-called “scientific theory of psychology”—was behaviorism, whose basic tenet is that you cannot scientifically say that there is a mind, because you cannot see it; you can only study behavior.

As a consequence of Kilpatrick’s books, the Montessori schools started closing down. Only a few remained over the long haul, and they were quite small. Students going to teachers’ colleges were discouraged from going into Montessori because it was considered old-fashioned—too much focus on the intellect, not enough on imagination; too individualistic, not the proper kind of socialization.

But the Method was rediscovered in Europe in the ’50s by a mother, Nancy McCormick Rambusch, who was very dissatisfied with education in the United States. She brought it back to the U.S. and eventually started the American Montessori Society. Ever since, it has been a grassroots, parent-driven movement, not an approach promoted out of the universities.

TNI: At that point, education was inundated by the ideas promoted by Dewey. Is that correct?

Enright: Right. You have to remember that traditional education was mostly either self-education or education of the wealthy, who could afford to hire tutors. The problem of mass education arose because a republic like ours needed an educated populace. But because not all parents could pay for school, public education started with the basic problem of how to educate so many people on a limited budget. To solve that, they came up with the factory model, which is to have everybody in one room doing the same thing at the same time. The teacher is the one lecturing or directing everything that the children are doing.

TNI: Sort of like mass production.

Enright: Right. And in some respects, it worked. I do not think it would have worked so well if not for the fact that many children going into this system were highly motivated immigrants—because motivation is the key to learning. Even today, as bad as some of our public schools are, you will find reports about immigrants from Somalia, Serbia, Poland, China, all doing fantastically in public schools where other children are failing.

People look back at nineteenth-century traditional education and early parts of the twentieth century and say, “Look at how well people were educated then, compared to now.” Yes, we have many examples of remarkably high-achieving people from all levels of society at that time, but what proportion of the population were they?

Actually, discontent with public education runs back a long way. There is a book from the ’60s by Richard Hofstadter called Anti-Intellectualism in American Life. He has a chapter called “The School and the Teacher,” in which he talks about the American dedication to education, how it is the “American religion,” and the concern, going back to statements of Washington and Jefferson, that we have an educated populace. He documents that objections to the kind of education received in public schools goes back to 1832—objections by Horace Mann in Boston, among others—and the complaints sound remarkably similar to what you hear today! Complaints such as: Not enough money being spent on students or teachers; teachers not getting the kind of social recognition they should for their important work; too many people apathetic about what was happening in the public schools.

So there were serious criticisms of traditional, factory-model education early on. But today there are serious problems with education as a result of the mass influence of Dewey’s philosophy of education and the ideas of leftists so deeply incorporated into the system of learning.

TNI: How do the ideas of leftists undermine education?

Enright: Well, the most serious problem is caused by the philosophical ideas of egalitarianism that became embedded in the system starting about thirty years ago. Egalitarianism is basically just a new variation on the socialist ideas which drove Dewey’s educational philosophy.

In the United States, we believe that people should have equality of opportunity. In other words, they should not be hampered by unequal treatment under the law, or by other people forcibly preventing them from pursuing what they want to do. Egalitarianism, however, takes the view that everybody should be made actually equal—not equal before the law, but materially and personally equal—that everybody should have the same amount of money, everybody should have the same abilities—

TNI: And opportunities.

Enright: Yes, and opportunities, regardless of their own effort. That these opportunities should be provided for them. This socialist permutation of Marxism was incorporated into the educational system in the way we spend public education money. Nowadays, we cannot spend more money on students of superior intelligence or talent than we do on students who have a lot of problems. We must focus instead on lifting kids with problems to the same level as everybody else. So a lot of money has been poured into “special education”—euphemistic code words for the education of poorly functioning children—and it is sold to the American public with the argument that we should give these kids an even break. In other words, it’s sold with an individualist spin: Since it’s government money, and since the government should be promoting equal opportunity, we should give problem kids extra help so that they can get on par with everyone else.

TNI: It’s easy to see how people can agree with that view of equal opportunity.

Enright: And it is true that we do need an educated populace. But there is a disjunction between the customer and the person paying, because public education is paid through government. So you have all of this conflict over what is going to be taught in the schools; and you end up having political pressure brought to bear by whoever has the dominant philosophy, influences the teacher’s colleges and education departments, or controls the local governments that run the educational programs.

There are two obvious consequences of introducing egalitarianism into the system. One is this idea that we must spend all kinds of money to raise the level of children with problems. As a result, a lot of money has been taken away from programs for what are called “gifted” children; after all, they’re already at a high level, so it’s not “equitable” to spend more to raise them higher.

The other consequence is the multiculturalism movement. That’s the idea that everybody should be considered equal no matter what their beliefs, or their racial, cultural, family, or ethnic background. Of course, as Americans, we think that you should not judge somebody based on his background or race, whatever group he is in, or anything like that, right? We think we should judge people as individuals. So, multiculturalism was floated in American society with an individualist twist.

But it is not about individuals. It categorizes everybody according to what social and cultural group he belongs to. And with egalitarianism comes cultural relativism: Every culture is equal to every other, none is better than any other. You throw out objective standards of what is good and what is bad.

So now, we are supposed to respect everybody regardless of what his culture or background brings to the table. If your culture believes in cutting off heads and ripping out hearts—well, it’s all relative!

TNI: And you have to be so careful about what you say, where you say it, and how you say it, in terms of being politically correct.

Enright: Exactly. And why is that? The egalitarians do not want anybody’s feelings to be hurt. They do not want people’s self-image to be hurt by the fact that they are not a white male, an Olympic athlete, or something like that. They have elevated a person’s self-image to being the main consideration, instead of what the person has actually achieved: We’re going to make everybody feel equal, even if they are not. Whereas our usual American approach to equality is: We do not care what your background is. If you have achieved something great, we are going to recognize and reward that.

TNI: We see the effects of this kind of philosophy, for example, in the “No Child Left Behind Act.”

Enright: Yes. No Child Left Behind is a way that conservative policymakers have tried to deal with the bad effects of egalitarianism in public education. They said, “See what this egalitarian approach to education, where everybody is worrying about hurting somebody’s feelings, has done to education. It has gotten teachers to give kids social promotions, which means that even though they have not mastered third-grade material, they are still promoted to fourth grade. We need to impose standards on public schools to make sure children are being educated to a certain level.”

So they imposed a centralized, top-down testing system for all schools, to try to make sure everybody was up to the same standards. This reflects the traditional way education is organized, because it is all about making everybody do the same thing at the same time.

TNI: And advance through the grades.

Enright: Right, advance through the grades. The other use of the term “grades” has to do with the evaluation of the child’s work on a task, essay, or project. Did you know that the use of the term “grades” came from the idea of grading shoes and saying that “this group of shoes is the best group, this group is just okay, this group is not too good, and that group must be thrown out”? What’s bothersome about this is that, as educators, our job should be to craft an environment to help each child, whatever his ability or background, so that he can learn and achieve as much as he can, so he can fulfill his best potential as a unique individual.

But in the grading system, you are thinking about how to decide whom to pass and whom to fail. In the traditional view, failing was the child’s fault, not the educational system’s—the child just didn’t try hard enough. One thing that traditional education was criticized for, and one reason why these newer methods were incorporated, was that we were losing all this human potential. But that truth was twisted through egalitarianism.

TNI: Then, at some point, there are classes where no grades are given at all, so nobody gets his feelings hurt? Or like the Little League where no score is kept?

Enright: Right. Nobody is labeled a winner or a loser.

I think that for young children, this is not always a bad idea, because grades and scores focus on competing with other people. In Montessori schools, we do not generally keep grades. We focus on whether or not the child is mastering the material. And each child is evaluated separately. A child also learns how to evaluate himself. “Have I mastered this material? Can I go on to the next level?”

TNI: And this is easily determined by the teacher?

Enright: Easily. Because the teacher knows the curriculum well; she knows what the child should be working on. And we have a general idea, from the scientific study of development, at what level children usually should be functioning at a given age. Not everybody will fall into the statistically normal sequence of development, because there is so much individual variation in human development and potential. We use a very broad category of what is objectively normal development.

TNI: This is also based on the biology of the child?

Enright: Exactly. One of the reasons we do not use grades in Montessori is that we recognize that education is, at root, self-education. Our job is to guide children in their self-education; we are very concerned that each child be concerned with doing his best and challenging himself. This only happens in the right educational environment because, you see, human beings are naturally very competitive. That, I think, comes from our nature as social animals competing in the social hierarchy, and it is very easy to let that trump the desire to learn.

So, when you introduce grades and all those comparisons in the early ages, children tend to focus on comparing themselves to each other and determining who is on the top of the heap and who is not. Their focus tends to be, “What is my grade? Am I pleasing the teacher? And am I better than the next guy?” They do not tend to focus on “What am I actually learning? Am I understanding what I’m doing? Do I know how to use it?”

TNI: That can be very dangerous. And it can undercut their self-esteem.

Enright: In the sense of undercutting their real self-esteem, their deepest sense of self-confidence. “I’m not good at math—I can’t do it as well as Johnny.” But maybe he’s just a late bloomer. Einstein was supposed to be a mediocre math student in the early grades. Being constantly compared to others can cut a child’s motivation to persevere and keep learning something, even if it’s difficult. So, we are very concerned to downplay that kind of competition. Competition happens anyway, but to a reduced degree. A child will look at what another is doing and say, “Hmm, I want to be able to do that.” If there is not a lot of pressure to compete, this natural tendency will actually motivate him in a good way.

TNI: It’s more of a healthy, inner competition—

Enright: —than something externally directed. You want to encourage this intrinsic motivation to learn and achieve that we see in the two year old, because when you become an adult, you want to be self-motivated—to achieve things yourself and to know what you enjoy doing, in order to be happy.

TNI: Why do conservatives not like the Montessori Method?

Enright: Well, I do not know if I can speak about all conservatives. Some send their children to Montessori schools. But, politically, the conservative approach is, “Let’s go back to what was done before.” They tend to think in the paradigm of what was done traditionally in education. That ends up being the factory method.

And they want to reintroduce standards, since egalitarians following the Dewey method took standards and mastery out of the picture because they did not want to hurt anybody’s feelings. So, since nobody is learning or acquiring the skills needed to succeed, the conservatives’ response is, “Well, let’s reintroduce standards.” Their way of doing it is by using these tests. It is ironic that conservatives, who seem to want a more free-market approach to things, should introduce the federal Education Department’s top-down, one-standard idea about what everybody in the whole country should be doing.

My teacher friends now call it the “No Child Left Standing Act,” because of the tremendous focus on producing higher test scores at all costs. The money that schools get is so tied to the test scores that the focus of teachers and administrations is almost solely on whether the children are passing these tests at the designated levels—not whether the children are really learning things. As we all know, it is very easy for many kids to learn only what they must for the short–term, to pass the test, but in the end they know very little about the subject.

TNI: It’s the old practice of “cramming for the test” until the last moment, taking the test, and then forgetting everything.

Enright: Exactly. Whereas real learning is about gaining the knowledge and skills that you need, relating these to other things you know, figuring out how you can use it all in your own life, and understanding how it affects the world.

The conservatives wanted to revert to traditional testing to assess what the child was learning. But, unfortunately, a test is not generally an authentic measure of what the child understands. Many smart kids are encouraged to compete to get good grades and learn to “game the system.” The kids who succeed the most in school oftentimes are the best at doing whatever the teacher tells them. They know what they need to do to get good grades, to get into the good high school and college. We see students who do fantastically on the SAT and may even do well in college, but they do not know how to think well. They just know how to play along by other people’s rules. When they get out into the real world, they are not necessarily especially successful or great employees.

TNI: They don’t succeed in reality.

Enright: No. Sometimes they are tremendous failures.

There was interesting research done on millionaires by Thomas J. Stanley. He discovered that quite a few of them got under 950, total, on their SAT scores, and yet they are fantastically successful in business. Obviously, their talents were not served or assessed well in school.

TNI: So, it is ultimately an issue of learning how to think, is it not?

Enright: Exactly.

TNI: And that is never taught, is it?

Enright: Rarely.

TNI: What about the kids of single parents or kids from minority homes lacking the usual advantages—kids who may not be instilled with much motivation to learn? Also, why do children from some ethnic groups, such as kids from India, seem to be more motivated to learn?

Enright: Indian culture really emphasizes education.

TNI: As does the Chinese culture.

Enright: Yes. So your question is: What can we do to motivate children who come from less-supportive backgrounds? Well, for one thing, research finds these children tend to do very well in Montessori classrooms.

Also, speaking of motivation—I remember a John Stossel TV special some years ago. There was a segment about Steve Marriotti, a former businessman who decided to teach in a Harlem high school. And he just had an awful time. Almost the whole year, the kids made fun of him and caused trouble.

Just before the end of the year, as he was about to quit, he asked his class, “If I did one thing right, what was it? If one thing I did was interesting, what was it?” And he said, “A fellow at the back of the class, a gang leader, raised his hand and said, ‘Well, when you talked about how you ran this import/export business and how you made it successful.’” Right there, this gang leader basically reconstructed Marriotti’s income statement for him. Obviously, he was an intelligent student—he had absorbed all the facts about the economics of Marriotti’s business.

It dawned on Marriotti that what would really motivate these kids to rise out of poverty was to learn how to become entrepreneurs. So he instituted a program that is now worldwide, to teach kids how to be entrepreneurs—the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. One thing he found is that children from these backgrounds are used to tolerating uncertainty and risk, which you must be able to do to be a good entrepreneur.

TNI: Right.

Enright: But people from a very stable background will not easily have that ability. In fact, we have an opposite kind of problem nowadays. We have so many kids from wealthy families that they lack the motivation to make money, and they do not have any direction. Their parents do not instill in them enough sense of purpose and drive. They end up being profligate, drunks and drug addicts, just spending money—Paris Hilton or whatever.

Because we are such a wealthy society, that is another reason why teaching our children in ways that nurture their intrinsic motivation right from the get-go is so important.

TNI: Back to an earlier point. If conservatives don’t have the right approach to education, what about libertarians?

Enright: The libertarians have mostly been encouraging school choice—the idea that parents should have a right to decide where their child goes to school. Encouraging school choice is a good idea; it is certainly a step away from this monolithic public education system we now have and towards a more individualized educational market.

TNI: That means supporting the voucher system, right?

Enright: I have to say, the voucher system scares me, in this respect. With the government paying for private-school education through vouchers, on the scale of money we’re talking about, there will inevitably be corruption. And then political people will say, “Well, if these private schools are going to take government money, we have to have government oversight and control.” It is a real, dangerous possibility that the government will step in and standardize everything, and that will be the opposite of a free market in education. It’s what happened in the Netherlands.

TNI: Is that where libertarian educators are moving?

Enright: What I understand is that libertarians originally were encouraging tax credits for education. Milton Friedman talked about that, years ago. Individuals could take money off what they had to pay in taxes in order to use it for private-school tuition. Also, non-parents and organizations could give money to educate others, like poor children, and get tax credits. If there weren’t enough monies that way, I imagine that you could set things up so that children whose parents did not pay enough taxes would get some kind of voucher.

But, at some point, many libertarians decided that that was not going to fly, politically, and so they turned instead toward vouchers for everybody. But the politicians will end up regulating private schools that use vouchers, maybe saying that all voucher-accepting schools have to have state-certified teachers or curricula.

TNI: So this may put Montessori out of business.

Enright: Yes. Because once the government begins to issue vouchers, the schools are going to have to accept them—except, perhaps, for the schools of the very wealthy. All the other private schools, where middle-class and lower-middle-class students go, will either have to accept them, or they will go out of business.

TNI: Ah, yes.

Enright: So, the libertarians are encouraging a free market in education, which is a good thing. The thing I do not hear from them, however, is much talk about what kind of education is objectively best for human beings. That is because most libertarians believe in a free market, which is the political end of things, but they think that your moral standards and ethical beliefs are entirely private and subjective.

Okay, I do not think that the government should be regulating morals, either. However, although I think that what is right and wrong is often a complex question, I also think that you can look at human nature and reality and say, “Just as certain things are good for human health, certain actions are good for human education.” It is a matter of science and experience to figure out what is objectively good in education. But libertarians do not discuss objective standards of education very much; it is something they leave by the wayside.

TNI: I know that standards and discipline in education are important to you.

Enright: They are. But there is a good side to them and a bad side. The conservative view of education tends to be that children need to learn certain things, and we must make them learn them because they are not necessarily interested in learning those things right now. I call this the “Original Sin” view of education, because it fits many conservatives’ ethical views: They think children tend to be naughty and would rather play, so you have to discipline them to make them learn.

TNI: Force them.

Enright: Force them to learn, right. And what Maria Montessori discovered was that they love to learn, if you give them the right environment, and they will do it of their own free will. You, as the adult, just have to be clever enough to give them what they need at the right time. You have to be the right kind of guide in their learning process, in their self-education. So, what tends to happen in the well-run Montessori school—and this is one of the things that is remarkably different about them—is that the children are very well-behaved of their own accord.

TNI: Because they are focused on learning and their own self-fulfillment—on intrinsic competition, as opposed to getting the best grade, fighting with others, and worrying about their self-images.

Enright: Exactly, exactly. What is so striking when you enter a Montessori classroom is this busy hum of all these children doing their own individual work all around the classroom. They are working on things; they are excited about what they are doing and sharing it with each other, but quietly. They are allowed to talk to each other. Maria said, “We learn so much through conversation as adults. Why do we stop children from talking to each other?” Well, that happens in traditional education because children end up talking about things that are different from what the teacher is directing them to pay attention to, right?

TNI: Yes.

Enright: People often ask me, “How do you know that a Montessori school is better than other schools?” And here is some of my proof: Over the years at my school, I cannot tell you how many children have lied to their parents, saying that they are not sick when they really were, because they do not want to miss school! We get notes from parents all the time about this.

TNI: That’s fascinating. It’s also fascinating that you have taken these concepts and have decided to put together a college for young adults. Why did you decide to do that, and how it is going to work?

Enright: It is well known that leftist philosophy dominates academia. Stories about how people with conservative or libertarian views are kept out of the academy are common. Furthermore, on campuses you have a proliferation of anti-cognitive, anti-free-inquiry ideas, like political correctness. The kids are not allowed to talk about things in certain ways because it might offend somebody. If they hold politically incorrect views and express them, they are ridiculed. In many instances students are punished with bad grades by professors who do not like what they write—not because it is poorly done, but simply because the teachers do not like the content. Well, that strangles debate. That strangles the reasoning mind. That strangles independent judgment.

TNI: It’s all too common.

Enright: Plus, it concerns me that the many students coming out of college are not able to think well. These people will take over the leadership of our society; yet they cannot think for themselves, and they have been encouraged to strangle their minds with political correctness.

So, I thought to myself, maybe it is time to start another kind of college, one consciously devoted to reason, to individualism, and to encouraging students to learn how to think for themselves—not only by the ideas that we’d teach, but by the very methods that we’d use to teach those ideas. A school where the teachers are not authority figures telling you what the truth is, and you are just absorbing it and spitting it back to them on the tests. Instead, a school where the teachers are expert guides to the best knowledge and ideas in the world—where reasoning skills are emphasized in every classroom, whether it is science or art, whether it is mathematics or history.

TNI: And you are going to find teachers able to do this—and wanting to do it?

Enright: Yes. I do not think it is going to be a problem to find teachers, because I have so many highly qualified people approaching me, saying they would be interested. It would be a matter of finding those with the right combination of skills, attitudes, and knowledge to properly implement the curriculum we have created.

TNI: Talk a little about that curriculum.

Enright: It is going to use what are called “The Great Books” as its foundation. These are group of classics first identified in the late 1920s and ’30s. Robert Hutchins, a far-seeing president of University of Chicago, was concerned, back in the ’20s, that college was getting too professionalized—that everybody was focusing on just getting a job, and that they were not being educated well enough in the great ideas of our world to understand what was going on around them.

So, he put together this committee of experts in ideas, works, and education—Mortimer Adler, a philosopher at U.C.; Richard McKeon and Mark Van Doren from Columbia; Stringfellow Barr from the University of Virginia—a number of people. They picked a group of books that they thought were the most influential, the best-reasoned, the most important works in Western civilization, and they called these “The Great Books.” Since then, the list has been expanded to include titles from civilizations around the world.

A person educated in these books knows a tremendous amount about the ideas, history, and people who have influenced the world we live in today. So, we are going to use that list of books, plus a select group of more contemporary ones, such as the works of Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Richard Feynman, and others. These will form the basis of our curriculum.

We will also incorporate philosophical questions in all classes—very reality-oriented philosophical questions. When the student is learning mathematics, he will also learn, “Why am I learning mathematics? What does it teach me about how to think? How can I use it in the way I live? How does it affect our society? What place does mathematics have in the marketplace?” So, when he graduates, he will have a firm grasp of the relationship between what he learned in school, and the workforce, and his life, and history, and political goings-on—all of these things. We will give him much stronger, more integrated knowledge of the world than does the usual curriculum.

TNI: And he will be independent.

Enright: And he will be independent. He will consciously know how to question and analyze. Through encouragement, reasoning skills, excellent philosophical knowledge, and the way the teachers will guide him, his independence will be highly nurtured. He will be much more confident of his own point of view because he will have thought it through so well. And whatever work he chooses, he will be able to be a confident leader promoting freedom.

Since I’ll bring Montessori principles up to the adult level in this school, a large component of the curriculum will be a “practical life component,” where the student not only intellectually grasps relationships between ideas and what is going on in the world but gains practical experience with that, too. We’ll give students an opportunity from their freshman year on to get involved in outside internships, research projects, and other activities where they can learn about whatever they might be interested in doing. They can try different kinds of work—

TNI: —actually working alongside business people, or interning with scientists?

Enright: Yes, precisely. The internship program will also demonstrate to people how well the students are doing, as they display their excellent thinking skills, their work ethic—all the kinds of things we are going to encourage and nurture.

TNI: Do you know for a fact that people out there would be willing to bring these interns into their environment?

Enright: Oh, yes. I know quite a few businessmen who are involved with me in this project, and they are very excited about the idea. You know, businesses today have a great deal of trouble with employees who are not prepared to work in the right way.

TNI: So, is this college going to be a reality?

Enright: If I have anything to do about it.

TNI: How are academics throughout the country responding?

Enright: I have quite a group of enthusiastic academics on my advisory board. When I go to conferences of the Liberty Fund and the National Association of Scholars and tell them about the college, many people are extremely interested. And, as I said, there is a lot of interest from professors who would like to work there.

TNI: You sound like an educational optimist.

Enright: I am. I think the basic principles of education—and educational reform—are now well-established. You have to remember that when Maria Montessori started, she basically taught slum children.

TNI: And proved that, given the right kind of education, these kids could rise out of poverty and become successful.

Enright: Absolutely. Every day, through a combination of factors, including drive and their own free will, people emerge from the worst of backgrounds and succeed. But what you want to do, of course, is to make it possible for more of them to succeed. And that is what education should be about: crafting a learning environment that allows the greatest number of children to develop themselves.

TNI: Well, it is a fascinating subject—and as your own project develops, I’m sure that we will talk with you about it again. Best wishes, Marsha.

Enright: Thank you, Sara.

This copyrighted interview is reprinted from the July 10, 2007, issue of The New Individualist. For more information about the magazine, click here:

http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-42-1328-New_Individualist.aspx

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2008-01-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

TNI’s Exclusive Interview with Dr. Walter E. Williams

by Sara Pentz

As an effective communicator of economic and political ideas, Professor Walter Williams may be without peer.

Funny, charming, and persuasive, his ability to translate the most complex issues into clear, memorable language has made him one of the most popular economic writers and lecturers in the world. That he is black, yet a consistent champion of laissez-faire capitalism, also sets him apart as an independent and principled thinker.

Since 1980, Dr. Williams has served as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, where from 1995 to 2001 he was department chairman. He also taught at Los Angeles City College, California State University (Los Angeles), Temple University, and Grove City College.

He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from UCLA. He also holds Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Virginia Union University and Grove City College, a Doctor of Laws from Washington and Jefferson College, and a Doctor Honoris Causa en Ciencias Sociales from Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala, where he is also Professor Honorario.

A prolific writer, Dr. Williams has published over 150 articles in scholarly journals as well as popular publications including Newsweek, National Review, and Reader’s Digest. He also has authored six books: America: A Minority Viewpoint; The State Against Blacks (later made into the PBS documentary “Good Intentions”); All It Takes Is Guts; South Africa’s War Against Capitalism; Do the Right Thing: The People’s Economist Speaks; and More Liberty Means Less Government.

As if all this weren’t enough, Walter Williams has appeared on scores of radio and television talk programs, is a popular guest host for “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” and pens a syndicated weekly column for approximately 140 newspapers and several Web sites.

Yet somehow, he still managed to make time to chat with writer Sara Pentz for this rare, revealing, and completely captivating TNI interview.

TNI : I hear that you are writing another book.

Williams: I’m doing an autobiography. My long-time friend and colleague, Thomas Sowell, wrote an autobiography, A Personal Odyssey. He’s been after me to write one. He said that the reason it’s important is that we’ve both led fairly public lives, and since there are so many historical revisionists around, it might be a good idea to have our story out. Tom encouraged me, since we’re both getting older. I’ll be 70 at the end of this month.

TNI : No kidding!

Williams: One of the examples of historical revisionism: Back during the early Reagan years, Tom and I were very visible, and there was a lot of controversy over him. Patricia Harris, who was the Secretary of HEW during the Carter Administration, responded to a series Tom wrote in the Washington Post called “Blacker Than Thou.” She said that Tom Sowell and I don’t know what poverty is because we were born with silver spoons in our mouths.
Nothing could be further from the truth. But the point that Tom was making was that we might as well put our lives out, in our own words, as opposed to just allowing some historical revisionist say how we lived.

TNI : Can you tell us a little bit about your early life?

Williams: Well, I was born in 1936 in Philadelphia. My father deserted my mother when, I guess, I was two or three years old. My sister is one year younger than I am. My mother struggled and raised us by herself, and this was during and right after the Depression years. She had to make a lot of sacrifices.

TNI : It must have been very difficult. You knew you didn’t have a father. What was your view of all of this?

Williams: I don’t think I thought about it.

TNI : Until you were what age?

Williams: I’m guessing that it might have been, oh, pre-adolescence or adolescence when I thought about it, but it never really bothered me.

TNI : Who or what most influenced you at an early age?

Williams: Well, I would say my mother. We were poor, but we didn’t think of ourselves that way. We had meals and reasonable clothing, and once in a while she’d take us out. But she was a person who said, “Well, there’s racial discrimination, so that means you just have to try harder.” One of her statements was that “we have a beer pocketbook, but we have champagne tastes.” And my grandmother—I was her favorite among, I guess, maybe about six or seven grandchildren—and she used to say things like, “Well, you don’t have to be rich to be clean.” Those kinds of values and admonishments were very, very influential.

TNI : Was your mother an intellectual influence on your life, or just a loving mother?

Williams: A loving mother, but a mother and father at the same time. She was a real sergeant. She made many demands. She just demanded excellence and responsibility, and she pushed us to do well in school. I think that by the time my sister and I were six or seven we had our own library cards, and our Saturday outing was to go to the Philadelphia Library, walk there, I guess about sixteen blocks from our house to the library. And we would check out books and, if I recall correctly, four or five books was the limit. When I finished reading mine, I’d start reading my sister’s and vice versa. Matter of fact, one of the ways my mother punished us was to tell us to go up to our room, but without our books.

TNI : And that was really bad?

Williams: Yes, it was very bad. Sometimes my mother would put us to bed, and we would bring our books near the door to read them. The light was out in the room, but we read them by the light that came in underneath the door of the hallway.

TNI : It makes such an impact on the early life, doesn’t it, reading?

Williams: Oh, yes, it does.

TNI : It’s quite obvious that you see the world differently than most people do.

Williams: Probably so, yeah.

TNI : And why do you think that is?

Williams: Well, I’ve always been a radical, and I think my mother was radical. Radical in the sense that I believe that I should be able to do anything that I wish to do, so long as I don’t violate the rights of other people, and people should not violate my rights. Just leave me alone. And that’s the way my mother was, as well.
In that regard, I’m in the minority. That is, most people around the world—unfortunately including the United States—have contempt for the principles of personal liberty and private property rights. I think they believe that one person should be forcibly used to serve the purposes of another, and they believe that they have a right through the government to impose their wills on others. So I’m out of step with most people in the world.

TNI : Well, a few of us agree with you. But it’s a unique perspective.

Williams: It’s unique today, but it has not always been. One of the major influences on my thinking was reading through Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. I must have read it 75 times in my entire life. Paine and other of our Founders had a libertarian view of the world. It’s unique today, but it was not as unique in yesteryear.

TNI : Was Paine’s book one that you picked up at the library as a young boy?

Williams: No. I probably started reading that when I was—I’m just guessing—I must have been a teenager. I think it was a high school assignment.

You have to keep in mind that it was a different era. That is, black Americans did not have the kind of opportunities as other people had in our country. We faced varying forms of discrimination, and maybe that made me very sympathetic to the ideas in Common Sense.

TNI : Did you experience a lot of racial discrimination as a young man in school situations?

Williams: No, I did not. Matter of fact, when I was born, we lived in west Philadelphia, which is a fairly middle class, low-middle class area. There was a school down the street that was predominantly black. But my mother thought that we’d get a better education if we went to Hamilton School, which is all white, and mostly Jewish. Being the only blacks in the school, we were treated very nicely.

TNI : Were you a very serious, thinking young man?

Williams: No.

TNI : That surprises me. Were you out playing football?

Williams: No, I played basketball. But I guess I would describe myself, as I look back, as a jokester, somewhat irresponsible about things, and a troublemaker.

TNI : And you survived all of that.

Williams: I survived it, yeah. One way I feel very lucky is that I managed to get virtually all of my education before it became fashionable for white people to like black people. The teachers I had were predominantly white—I had possibly two or three black teachers in my entire education—and if I said something stupid, the teachers did not hesitate to tell me that it was utter nonsense. They didn’t care about my feelings. They didn’t care about racial discrimination.

For example, in junior high school I had a black teacher, Mrs. Meekins. We used to hand in essays, and on two occasions my four-page essay was returned to me torn up into four pieces, with a note on top: “At least you could spell correctly. Rewrite it.”

And then in high school—I guess I must have been maybe a sophomore—I had an English teacher who was a Jewish fellow, Dr. Martin Luther Rosenberg. He was a very, very dedicated teacher—so dedicated that he used to conduct college tutorial classes in the morning for students who had some promise of being able to attend college. He used to require that we get there at 7:00, and he would drill us on English grammar.

Anyway, I had his regular class later on in the day, and I was fairly good in English. He used to write sentences on the blackboard and have students correct them. One day he had a student correct a sentence, and he was about to erase the board when I told him that there was another error. Dr. Rosenberg said, “Well, what is it?” And I said: “There’s lack of agreement between the subjective object of the verb, ‘to be.’” He congratulated me and said, “You’re very alert this morning.” I said in a barely audible voice to the kid next to me, “I’m paying taxes so the teachers can teach me, and I have to teach them.”

But Dr. Rosenberg heard me, and he just flew off the handle. He was aggravated with me anyway, because I used to do all kinds of things in class. He told me, “Williams, teaching you this material is like casting pearls before the swine.” He told me I was never going to be anything.

Well, I needed that dressing down. That was the first challenge I got in high school, and ultimately I graduated salutatorian. I kind of got my act together.

When I talk about getting most of my education before it became fashionable for white people to like black people, what I mean is: Can you imagine a teacher today telling any kid that—much less a white teacher telling a black kid? He wouldn’t do it. But, I needed that kind of dressing down. It turned me around.

You see, I got my education at a time when people weren’t, oh my God, worrying about somebody’s “self-esteem.”

TNI : About whether they’ll be “hurt” or not.

Williams: Yeah, right. We live in the Philadelphia mainline suburbs, very plush suburbs, and the public schools are reasonably good. I have one daughter, and when she was attending elementary school, we used to have parent-teacher meetings. One time her math teacher told me that she wasn’t turning in her assignments on time. I said, “Well, how could we know? You should have flunked her. You should have given her an ‘F.’” And he told me, “Well, we want the kids to feel good about themselves.” I told him, “Well, I feel good about myself every time I solve a set of quadratic equations. I don’t think that just because you’re a human being, self-esteem should be conferred on you.”

Anyway, my wife had been trying to get me to enroll my daughter and bear the expense of an all-girls’ private school. After that meeting, I decided, yes, we will indeed send her to the Agnes Irwin School for Girls. At that school, they used to send out interim reports. If she messed up, we knew the next day; something was mailed to us. And if she did something very good, we would get notice about it, too.

TNI : Let’s back up for a moment. When did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?

Williams: All that I knew as a kid was that I wanted much more than I had. I wanted things like a Coupe deVille Cadillac, and to live in a fine house, and stuff like that. But in terms of a career, I don’t think that I had anything in mind as a teenager.

TNI : So when did you know—well, how do you describe yourself? As a teacher, writer, speaker, philosopher, political scientist, economist?

Williams: I guess as an economist. I love teaching, and a lot of people ask, Well, what do you do? I say I teach economics, and I try to sell my fellow Americans on the moral superiority of liberty. But the kinds of things that I say in my public life never enter in class. I don’t talk about the kind of things you would hear me say on [the] Rush Limbaugh [radio show] or in my syndicated columns. Those are not topics that I use in my class, because I think that to use one’s class for proselytizing students is academic dishonesty. But I love teaching, and I tell Mrs. Williams that on the day that I die, I want to have taught on that day.

TNI : So how did you get into economics?

Williams: Well, to go back…I met my wife in 1958, and we got married in 1960. I met her when I was driving a taxicab in Philadelphia.

TNI : Was she in the back seat?

Williams: No, it’s bit more complicated than that. Anyway, I was drafted in the Army in 1959, and I had a lot of problems in the Army. Court martial, which I won, of course, but the FBI was following my wife, and the Criminal Investigation Division was investigating me. Anyway, I was sent to Korea, and I had a lot of time to think. I told my wife that as soon as we save $700, we’re going to go to Los Angeles, because I want to go to college. I got out of the Army in 1961, and we were on the road to Los Angeles in December of ’61. I started Los Angeles City College in February of ’62, majoring in sociology.

Then, over one summer—I believe I was a junior—I read W.E.B. DuBois’s Black Reconstruction, and that convinced me that I wanted to learn something about economics. So I took a course in economics—this was at Cal State L.A.

Matter of fact, I changed my major to economics. I took my first economics course, and I got a D. I had a whole lot of trouble with the professor. I was asking questions that he did not like, and he called me to his office and said that he thought that I should change my major to something easier. I think I would have gone back to sociology, but my wife said, “Why don’t you try another course?”

It turns out that the next three courses I took in economics, I got all A’s. So that’s how I got into economics. And I’m very, very happy that I made that choice.

TNI : But really, I think of you as a philosopher—you’re involved with politics and social issues and so on. You’re a thinker more than anything. Isn’t that how you would describe yourself?

Williams: No, actually I would describe myself as an economist. But as I tell students the first day of class—whether I’m teaching a Ph.D. theory course, or the intermediate theory course—I tell them that economics, more than anything else, is a way of thinking. It’s using deductive logic; and if you learn a good way of thinking, you can apply that to many, many areas of human behavior. You don’t have to be a philosopher to be able to use the deductive logic of economics to analyze various issues.

TNI : You know that many of the readers of The New Individualist are Objectivists. Are you familiar with Ayn Rand?

Williams: Yeah. I’ve actually read more of her shorter pieces or articles than her works. I guess as a college student I tried to read Atlas Shrugged, and I just could not get through it. I think I might have read the first three or four chapters. I understand I should have stuck with it, but later on in life I got the book on tape. Driving between my home in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and Fairfax, Virginia, I got through all of it. I was sorry, after having gotten through it, that I did not have more stick-to-it-iveness when I was in college.

TNI : Is there anything about Ayn Rand’s philosophy that you would like to comment about?

Williams: Well, yes, just one thing. She talked about the virtue of selfishness. And I agree with her 100 percent—but it doesn’t make for a way to sell your ideas to the unwashed. Because nobody wants to appear selfish. So that’s the only comment. But all of her comments about the businessman and the worker, I’m 100 percent in support of. It’s just that sometimes when you’re trying to sell an idea, you have to sugarcoat it a little bit.

TNI : She never sugarcoated anything.

Williams: Yes. Sometimes I tell people, Well, you have to be a little bit more end-oriented. That is, if you want to promote an idea, what is the best means to get your idea promoted? The people who want to control our lives, they have a wonderful selling package.

TNI : Talk a little bit about that.

Williams: The people who want to control our lives say, “We’re caring, we really care about the children.” I even hate the term “children” nowadays, because a whole lot of the justification for controlling our lives has to do with “the children.” These people say, Oh, we care about the elderly people, things like that. They’ve been just very, very good at marketing. If you are among the unwashed, and you have me or Ayn Rand saying, “Well, we just care about ourselves, we don’t care about anybody else,” and then you have somebody else saying, “Oh, we care, we feel your pain!”—well, who’s going to win?

TNI : It’s obvious.

Williams: And so one of the things that I try to do when I’m talking to people is to make an argument for the morality of markets. Matter of fact, I have a column coming out called “Caring vs. Uncaring.” I say in the column, Look at the wonderful things that are done for humanity, or look at the areas where we are most satisfied, and what do you see? The areas that we have the greatest satisfaction or the fewest complaints are places like the supermarket or the clothing store, or in computers and cell phones. And what’s the motivation of the producers? It’s for profit. But look at the areas where we’re dissatisfied—it’s public education, it’s the city sanitation department, it’s the public transportation, it’s the motor vehicles department. Look at the stated motivation in these areas: it’s where there’s caring, but where there’s no profit motive.

So I point out that if you’re really concerned about pleasing people, you have to talk about the profit motive, because the profit motive does two things. It forces the producer to try to find what people want, and to produce what they want. At the same time, it forces them to provide human wants in a way that economizes on the usage of scarce resources. So to sell our ideas to the unwashed, make the case for the moral superiority of free markets. I’m always trying to make that case.

TNI : I’d like to get back to that issue of how everyone is trying to control us. What do you mean by that?

Williams: Well, one example: I smoke. People make up things, like secondhand smoke from people like me is harming people. I tell people that harm is not the issue at all. It’s private property rights. If I own a restaurant and I wish for there to be smoking, I just may put a sign outside and say, “I admit smoking.” If Sara doesn’t like that, just don’t come in my restaurant. And vice versa: a restaurant owner who does not permit smoking should put a sign out saying, “No smoking,” and I can decide whether I want to enter the restaurant under that condition.

However, what people want in our society is to forcibly impose their wills on other people. And they fail to see it in reverse. For example, most people would agree that if you owned the restaurant, and you did not want smoking in the restaurant, then it would be tyranny if, through the political mechanism, I and a bunch of people were able to make a law forcing you to permit smoking in your restaurant. But on the other hand, they see no problem with a law that will force a restaurant owner willing to allow smoking to not allow smoking.

TNI : The same is true regarding SUVs and other things we buy, and the way we indulge ourselves, and so on, isn’t it?

Williams: Yeah. There’s this Center for Science in the Public Interest. They want the imposition of taxes on non-nutritious foods. They also want a tax on televisions and gasoline, because we lead too sedentary lives; and if we raise the cost of televisions and gasoline, well, maybe people will walk more. All kinds of examples of people wishing to use the coercive power of the government to control the lives of others. People want to be able to tell me that if I have an adolescent daughter who gets pregnant and wants to have an abortion, she can have it without my consent or my knowledge—which is irrelevant to the debate over abortion. It’s just the very fact that someone is usurping my authority as a parent.

There is probably no idea that has an older history in human existence than the idea that one group of people ought to be able to control what another group of people do. It’s an idea that accounts for the ugliest parts of human history. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to control the lives of anybody else. But I guess I’m fairly rare in that respect.

TNI : About your branching out into talk radio: is that something that you would like to do continually?

Williams: Well—not to have my own show.

TNI : What a shame.

Williams: It was, I think, in 1992 that James Goldman, one of the call screeners at “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” called me up and asked if I would like to be interviewed. [Former congressman] Bob Dornan used to substitute for Rush, and he interviewed me. Later, Rush called me and said he loved it. He was getting ready to go out of town, and he asked if I could come in and substitute-host for him. I told him I’d never hosted a show before in my life. And he said, Oh, it’ll be easy—my people will take care of you, tell you what to do. And so I’ve been doing that, I think, 14 years.

TNI : Do you enjoy it?

Williams: Yes, I enjoy it. I call that my big classroom.

TNI : Is there anything that has been written about you that is untrue, and that you would like the opportunity to correct?

Williams: Well, there’s been a hell of a lot of things written about me because I swim upstream against the tide. So that just goes with the territory.

TNI : How do you deal with that?

Williams: Oh, I just ignore it. It doesn’t bother me. Actually, a lot of it started during the Reagan Administration, and also in, I believe, 1978 or ’79 when I wrote a study for the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. It was called Youth and Minority Unemployment. In it I point out that the minimum wage law discriminates against the employment of low-skilled people. It has a particularly devastating effect on black teenagers, because teenagers in general are low-skilled, but black teenagers are even more low-skilled because of the shoddy education that they receive, and sometimes the lack of a constructive household environment. So it would discriminate against the employment of black teenagers the most.

At that time, the minimum wage was seen by most people as akin to motherhood, apple pie, and God; so to have somebody criticize the minimum wage was just unthinkable. Unions, union representatives, were writing and saying awful things about me. Matter of fact, the people in Congress tried to suppress the study. It wasn’t released until Senators Orrin Hatch and Samuel I. Hayakawa pressed the Joint Economic Committee of Congress to publish it, because they were just sitting on it.

TNI : So nothing has changed?

Williams: I think a lot has changed. It’s not political suicide now to come out against the minimum wage. And you find challenges being made to the so-called “living wage” because that’s the same as the minimum wage. In the latest study I wrote, I point out that something like 90 percent of academic economists agree that the minimum wage discriminates against the employment of low-skilled people.

TNI : You must feel gratified about this.

Williams: Well, yes. Whenever you have your ideas confirmed by the people in your profession, or confirmed by the evidence, it’s reassuring.

TNI : What are your favorite subjects to write or talk about?

Williams: Oh, anything. I’m what my colleague, Nobel Laureate Jim Buchanan, refers to as an “economic imperialist.” What he meant is that economists just dip their noses into any subject and apply economics to it. As I tell my students, economics is a way of thinking, a deductive, logical way of thinking. So sometimes you might hear me talking about applications of the second law of thermodynamics to economics. Sometimes I’ll dabble in biology and economics. I’ve written a lot of stuff on taxation, economic regulation, racial and sexual discrimination, and a whole range of topics. Whatever interests me, I write about it.

TNI : Are the subjects tied to current events?

Williams: Not necessarily, but I would say yes, to a significant degree.

TNI : Is there any one particular issue that you are most passionate about other than economics? Well, yes, I know that covers everything…

Williams: If you were to go to my Web page and put in a search term, “government,” that would probably be what I write about most. I think it’s the most important thing to write about because, if you look down through history, the major oppressor of humankind has been government. The Founders recognized that government is the enemy of mankind, but, at the same time, they recognized that we do need some government. So one of their goals was to limit government, because they recognized that the potential for abuse was so great.

If you read through all the statements by the Founders and the framers of the Constitution, it’s very much anti-government. Matter of fact, if you read through the Constitution and the first ten Amendments, you would conclude that it was a very anti-government document. That is, the negative phrases used by the Founders against the Congress of the United States showed their deep distrust. The Bill of Rights says Congress shall not disparage, Congress shall not abridge, Congress shall not prohibit, Congress shall make no law, blah, blah, blah. It reflected a deep suspicion of government.

And if you look through history, government has been the enemy of the people. As brutal as the wars were in the 20^th Century, where tens of millions of people were slaughtered—World War II, the 60 million; then World War I, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War—the total loss of life through wars pales in comparison with the number of people murdered by their own governments. You can start out with the Soviet Union: well over 100 million people were killed. Or the slaughter of the Armenians by the Turks, and the millions of people slaughtered by Hitler through extermination camps and things like this.

TNI : Not to mention in Iraq by Saddam.

Williams: Or Pol Pot in Cambodia. The evidence of human history shows that government is one of the greatest sources of evil, and so it always makes for a good topic because the essence of government is coercion. The government doesn’t say: Williams, would you please do such and such, would you please refrain from doing such and such? No, no, they say: Well, if you don’t do what we say, we’re going to put you in jail, or ultimately kill you. And that’s the essence of government, including our government.

TNI : You don’t believe in the Constitution as a “living document.”

Williams: No. When I hear that phrase, “the Constitution is a living document,” or “it’s flexible,” my response is that the person is also saying that we have no Constitution, because the Constitution represents our rules of the game. And for rules of the game to mean anything, they must be fixed. I’ve asked, How many people would like to play me poker if the rules would be “living”—that is, if in some circumstances, my two pair could beat your three of a kind?

For the Constitution to mean anything, it has to be fixed. And matter of fact, the Founders, in their wisdom, recognized that times would change, and that you might have to amend the Constitution; so they provided us with Article 5 as the means to amend the Constitution. But amending the Constitution is very difficult because you need two-thirds in Congress and three-quarters of the states. So people who want to change the rules of the game, they just go to the Supreme Court and just get the Court to override the Constitution. Or they just ignore the Constitution. If you read Madison’s comments in Federalist Paper 45, he was trying to explain what the Constitution was all about. He said—and I’m virtually quoting—that the powers that we’ve given Congress are few and defined and restricted mostly to external affairs. Those left with the people and the states are indefinite and numerous. Now, if you would turn that almost upside down, you’d have what we have today: the power of the federal government and powers of Congress are indefinite and numerous.

TNI: Which leads to the subject of individual rights. Today, lots of people think of rights as any kind of entitlement that they wish.

Williams: Yes. In a recent column called “Bogus Rights,” I said that rights, as used by the framers of the Constitution, meant something that we all enjoy simultaneously. And I gave the example that my right to free speech or freedom of religion imposes no obligation on you whatsoever, and in no way diminishes your rights to free speech and religion. The only obligation that my right to free speech imposes upon you is that of non-interference—that you don’t interfere with me.

If you compare that with what people say today—that people have a right to a job, a right to decent housing, a right to medical care—well, those aren’t really rights in the sense that the framers were talking about, because your right to medical care imposes an obligation on others. That is, there’s no tooth fairy or Santa Claus that provides the resources for you to get medical treatment. In order for government to give you the right to medical treatment, it must take away my rights to my income. If the government says that you have a right to something that you did not earn, that simultaneously says that I don’t have a right to something that I did earn. You understand what I mean?

TNI: Yes, absolutely. I’m in total agreement with that.

Williams: It’s nonsense if you say, “Oh, well that’s the same thing as my right to free speech.” If you apply these bogus concepts of rights to, let’s say, the right of free speech or my right to freedom of travel, that would mean that in order for me to enjoy my right to free speech, it would impose an obligation on others to provide me with an auditorium and a microphone—or my right to freedom of travel would require others to provide me with airplane fare and hotel accommodations.

Of course, for the leftist people who are pushing these kind of things, and many people on the right as well, it sounds so caring to say that somebody has the right to medical care. And here comes Williams who says, No, you don’t have a right to medical care; you don’t have a right to anything that you can’t afford. Now, because I take that position, that may sound mean to people. But when one reaches into his own pockets to help his fellow man, that’s quite laudable.

However, when one reaches into somebody else’s pocket to help his fellow man, that’s despicable. It’s nothing more than theft.

TNI: It’s very simple when you think about it, isn’t it?

Williams: Yes.

TNI: You’ve been a critic of what’s happening on college campuses.

Williams: In general, colleges, particularly the professors and the administration of colleges, have lost the kind of intellectual and academic honesty that characterized colleges of the past. I mean, the kinds of things that are tolerated on the college campuses today—it’s despicable. The shouting down of people that they disagree with. Or the recent running out of the President of Harvard, just because he speculated that the reason why women are not highly represented in the sciences may have something to do with genetics.

Take that incident. In terms of the actual evidence that we have, it turns out that women are never as dumb as men, but, on the other hand, they’re never as smart as men. That is, at the very high end of the IQ range, there are relatively few women. At the very low end of the IQ range, where you find imbeciles and idiots, there are relatively few women. And that might explain why women aren’t in jail as much as men. But he was not being a sexist for saying that; he only said, maybe that’s one of the reasons. Yet he was just lambasted at Harvard University and elsewhere. He also said something else: that maybe another reason is because married women just don’t have as much freedom to devote 80 hours a week to research as males do, because they have some obligations. Many times, married women have obligations of household and kids. But anyway, just for making some reasonable speculations, he was run out—he resigned.

What this shows in the university community and the academy is a growing intolerance for intellectual diversity. They’re for all kinds of diversity, whether it’s sex or race or et cetera, but they’re not for intellectual diversity. Studies show that some departments on many college campuses are 90, 95, and up to 100 percent Democrats. That speaks to some of the biases that we see on college campuses. Out in California at UCLA, my alma mater, the Bruin Alumni Association is documenting some of the proselytizing of kids by professors there.

TNI: Regarding that, you must be upset about what’s happened in the Denver, Colorado school with the teacher who was comparing Bush to Hitler.

Williams: Oh yes, I wrote a column on it. Jeff Allen, the father of a student in the class, sent me an e-mail telling me what his son was experiencing in his geography class. And he was irate about it. He told me that his son recorded the teacher’s comments, and he asked, Did I want the copy of the recording? And I said yes. I got the recording, and I wrote the column about it, which led to the teacher being put on administrative leave.

TNI: Yes, but he’s been reinstated.

Williams: He’s been reinstated, yes. If you look at the press conference with the superintendent of schools, it was really a mealy-mouthed response. Matter of fact, he didn’t even respond to some of the reporter questions. Did the teacher, Jay Bennish, violate Cherry Creek School District policy? He just would not answer. He said that’s a personnel matter, and we can’t talk about it. Have you heard the tape?

TNI: I’ve heard parts of it, absolutely, yes.

Williams: It’s not like he was sitting down and talking. He was actually hectoring the students.

TNI: Yes.

Williams: And he said capitalism is anti-humanity. I had all of his quotes in my column.

TNI: As a teacher, how do you respond to that teacher doing something like this?

Williams: I see the Denver school event as just really more of the same. It’s widely prevalent in primary and secondary schools, and really going crazy in many colleges. But it’s not an issue of free speech. It’s just plain academic dishonesty. This kind of stuff, the classrooms being used this way, may very well explain why when an international comparison is made between the proficiency of our high school youngsters and those elsewhere in developed countries, we come up 21^st. There’ve been geography surveys that find that many of our high school youngsters can’t locate the United Kingdom on a world map. Maybe because they’re too busy learning how similar Bush and Hitler are.

My colleague Tom Sowell wrote a book several years ago called Inside American Education: The Decline, The Deception, The Dogmas. He points out where third grade teachers are asking their students: How many of you felt like beating up your parents? And in high school health class: How many of you hate your parents? Or surveys asking students: How many times do you masturbate a week?

TNI: I’ve heard about that, and a lot of similar surveys.

Williams: This is very prevalent.

George Will wrote a column earlier this year about teacher education. They’re not necessarily worrying about academic proficiency of teachers, but about how the teachers feel about social justice and white privilege and things like that. I’m thoroughly convinced that one of the best things we could do for primary and secondary education is to get rid of schools of education on college campuses, because schools of education on almost any college campus represent the intellectual slums of the campus. If you look at the students who become education majors—and the statistics are available from the National Center for Education Statistics—the high school students who intend to become education majors have the lowest SAT scores of any other major. And when these people graduate with a B.A., and some of them want to go to law school and take the LSAT, or to medical school and take them MCAT, or to graduate school and take the GRE, they score the lowest of any other major.

And so we have people in education who have very, very limited thinking ability, which makes them easy prey for all kinds of schemes that don’t make sense.

TNI: You’ve written that in the marketplace, and I’m going to quote, “…efficiency criterion dictates that resources be allotted to those who can best use the resources, as opposed to those who best need it.” What did you mean by that?

Williams: Well, one way to look at it, let’s look at education. Now, in terms of resource usage, a lot of people say: We ought to spend a lot of educational resources on kids who are alien and hostile to the education process, and try to find ways to motivate them. And they’ll say: The kids who are smart and motivated and from good backgrounds don’t need the resources.

What they are really saying is: We’re going to allocate resources to people who best need them, as opposed to the people who can best use them. And the people who can best use them, in this particular example, are the students with the supportive households, and who are not alien to the education process.

It’s the same thing if you look at what’s going on in Africa and South America, where they’re engaging in what they call “land reform.” The government is giving land to peasants, and in Zimbabwe giving it to blacks that are very, very low income and dispossessed. Well, if you give the land to those people who have relatively little knowledge and experience of farming, and take it away from those who have a lot of knowledge and experience of farming, then you shouldn’t be surprised if the agricultural output goes to hell.

TNI: Let’s shift to another hot topic. What do you think lies at the root of the recent high-profile influence-peddling schemes going on in Washington?

Williams: The root issue here—and [Jack] Abramoff’s case is just the latest—is that Congress has such control over our lives that it pays for people to spend resources to try to get Congress to make certain laws, to have certain regulations, to rig the economic game in their favor. A lot of the influence peddling that you see is just defensive. That is, a company might find out that there’s some regulation Congress is debating that’s going to raise the cost to them, make their activities less profitable. So they’ll go to Congress and try to get the regulation rescinded or defeated.

Then there’s the “good cop, bad cop” business, whereby Congressman A will tell his constituents that Congressman B is getting ready to push for a law or regulation that’s going to hurt them; and if you give me money, I’ll fight Congressman B on the floor. And Congressman A and B, they might be in cahoots together to try to do this to raise money.

I once asked a friend and associate of mine, Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek, if he could write a law that would help the country the most, what would that law be? And he said, “Very simple: You should have a law that Congress cannot do for one American what it does not do for all Americans.” He gave me the example that if Congress pays some people not to raise pigs or grow wheat, they ought to pay every American not to raise pigs or grow wheat.

In other words, a lot of the scandals in Washington and state capitals are a result of the fact that congressmen and state legislators have the power to do for one American what they won’t do for all Americans. That is, Congress is in the business of granting favors to some Americans and not granting them to other Americans. So people find it in their interest to pay congressmen to get favors. If we could eliminate that, we would get rid of some of the scandals. Ask yourself a question: Name me a lobbyist who will give a congressman thousands of dollars to guarantee him freedom of speech.

That’s worthless, because everybody has freedom of speech. But he will pay a congressmen who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee to give him a tax write-off for such and such.

TNI: It’s discouraging, to say the least. A lot of us are in a state of despair because we don’t see how this sort of thing can be stopped. Do you see any signs for optimism?

Williams: Not much, because, see, I don’t blame politicians a whole lot. I blame them a little bit for not living up to their oath of office and being sellouts. But the major problem is with the American people, because politicians are doing precisely what the American people elect them to office to do. They elect them to use the power of their office to take what rightfully belongs to one American and give it to another American to whom it does not belong. Or they elect politicians to office to confer a privilege on them that will not be conferred on other Americans.

Look, suppose I were to run for the United States Senate from, let’s say, Texas. And I go back and forth across the state during my campaign and I tell the people: “I’ve read the United States Constitution, and I’m going to adhere to the spirit of the Constitution that the framers intended when they wrote it. That means that, if you elect me to the United States Senate, don’t expect for me to bring back aid to higher education, Meals on Wheels, highway construction funds and college loans, and food stamps, because all those things are not authorized by the Constitution.”
Now, the question is: Do you think I would get elected to the Senate from Texas?

TNI: That would make a good stage comedy.

Williams: And the reason people wouldn’t elect me is because I wouldn’t be doing what they want me to do. Now let’s say I’m running for the Senate in California. The people of California would be behaving absolutely correctly in terms of their own economic interest by not electing me. And the reason is because if I don’t bring back billions of dollars in the form of highway construction funds, bridges, et cetera, et cetera, that doesn’t mean that Californians will pay a lower federal income tax. All that means is that the tax money will go to Nevada instead.

The tragedy for our nation is that once legalized theft begins, it pays for everybody to get involved. And those who don’t get involved will wind up holding the brown end of the stick.

TNI: It’s obvious that you don’t consider yourself to be a liberal, but do you think of yourself as a conservative?

Williams: No.

TNI: I didn’t think so. Is there a label for your views?

Williams: When people press me on that, I tell them I’m a radical—a radical like many of the framers of the Constitution were. I call myself a radical because most Americans have utter contempt for the principles of individual liberty, and any American who supports the principles of individual liberty is way out of step. He’s a radical.

As I said, the average American thinks that it’s okay for the government to give money to poor people or to foreigners or to bailouts for the airline industry. And I find all that offensive to the principles of liberty. So in that sense, I’m a radical. Now, if you pressed me—Is there a political party that holds the views that I hold?—I’d say the closest would be the Libertarian Party. But even the Libertarian Party and I part company, mostly in the areas of foreign policy.

It seems to me that many Libertarians fail to realize or notice that we live in a hostile world. Where many people in the Libertarian Party would not do any preemptive strikes against other nations, I surely would. That is, if I have a neighbor next door who hates my guts, and if I see him building a cannon in the window pointed at my house, I’m not going to wait for him to finish.

TNI: So in that sense, you would agree with what our government is doing in Iraq, Iran, various places?

Williams: Well, here’s a question. Foreign intelligence has always been less than perfect. That is, during World War II, one of the reasons we focused most of our energies on conquering Germany was because our intelligence said that Germany was getting close to having an atomic bomb. It turned out that the intelligence was wrong. In the case of Iraq, the intelligence appears to be wrong, although some people are now saying that the weapons of mass destruction were moved to Syria.

Whenever you engage in any kind of policy, you always have a chance of making a mistake. But when you’re looking at a situation like Iraq, I believe that there are essentially two errors that we could make, and you have to ask which is the least costly error. The first error is that we could assume that Saddam Hussein has nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction when, in fact, he doesn’t. Or we could assume that he does not have weapons of mass destruction when, in fact, he does.

So you say: Well, which error is more costly? I say that the latter one is—to assume that he does not have nuclear weapons when, in fact, he does. Because if he does get nuclear weapons, given his designs in the Middle East, it could raise havoc and affect the entire world.

In terms of preemption, if you look at Germany after World War I, there was the Versailles Treaty that placed limitations on what kind of military Germany could have. It turned out that when Hitler came to office in the early ’30s, he set about to break one treaty agreement after another. When he started breaking them, it turned out that in 1935 or 1936 France alone could have defeated Germany. But we just let him continue to build his military might until World War II, and about 50 to 60 million people died as a result. Now, if we had taken a preemptive strike against Nazi Germany, then we would have saved all those lives.

History is never totally repeated twice. But switching back to Iraq: Well, the whole West could have ignored Saddam Hussein, let him get all those weapons, and then find out later that we would have to go in there militarily. And the cost then could have been much greater than it was in the recent conflict. So the question that you always have to ask is: Will a preemptive strike lower long-run costs? And I believe it did.

TNI: About Iran—comments?

Williams: Of course, I don’t have access to all the intelligence that the White House has about the situation in Iran. But given what I know, I think I would just tell the leaders there: Stop trying to get nuclear weapons, or we’re going to lay some submarines off the coast and send missiles to bomb your facilities. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t send a single troop in there whatsoever. I would just send cruise missiles. Every time they started building, I’d try to get the intelligence to find the sites, and just bomb the hell out of them.

And matter of fact, if I were in the shoes of President Truman back in the late ’40s when we had a monopoly on nuclear weapons, I think I would have decreed to the world that any nation that started making nuclear weapons, we’re going to bomb the facilities. Now, of course that violates national sovereignty. But the alternative is many nations having nuclear weapons. That is, to avoid Armageddon, there now has to be a unanimous decision by all holders of nuclear weapons not to use them. And as the number of holders of nuclear weapons increases, the more difficult it is to come up with a unanimous vote not to use them, because different countries will engage in strategic behavior. A country like Iran or North Korea may miscalculate, or may feel that they really have not as much to lose.

The point is that we have to keep the nuclear club size small, and so that’s what I would have done as President—just issue a decree that we’re going to bomb the facilities of any nation making nuclear weapons, including our allies. I would have told Great Britain the same thing.

TNI: So you’re just saying absolutely nobody gets nuclear weapons.

Williams: That’s right, yeah. It’s just the power to impose our will in that regard on the rest of the world. Now, I would not impose my will in any other area—just in terms of nuclear weapons.

TNI: I was in the mainstream media for quite a while. It was very difficult for me because I was not a liberal. You are a sharp critic of the media. What is your biggest complaint?

Williams: Well, actually, I don’t complain about them too much any more, because a lot of their monopoly power has dissipated with talk radio and other sources for Americans to get news. But I in addition to bias, they tend to be very, very poorly informed about many of the issues that they discuss.

You hear in the news that the minimum wage is going to be increased to such and such an hour, so low-income people are going to get a raise. Reporters just assume that when you raise the wage from $5 to $7 an hour, all that means is that people have $2 more an hour. But what they don’t appreciate is that some people are going to get laid off. Some jobs are going to go overseas, and there’s going to be automation.

I was talking to a group of news people to try and explain economics to them. I was saying that when I was a kid back in the ’40s and ’50s, even in neighborhood theatres you might find two or three ushers working, young people working to take you to your seat. You don’t find ushers today in neighborhood theatres, and fewer in downtown ones, and the reason is not because Americans of today like to stumble down the aisles in the dark to find their seats.

Or when I was a youngster, you pulled into the gasoline station and someone would fill your tank, wash your windows, check your oil and the air in your tires. Young people were doing that. But you don’t find that anymore. You find self-service stations. You don’t have self-service stations because Americans today like to spill gasoline on their shoes and sniff fumes when they gas their cars. It’s just that the minimum wage has destroyed that kind of job. If the stations had to pay the minimum wage, and still provide all the service that they used to provide in the past, they’d have to charge $5 a gallon.

So in addition to being biased, the media are just uninformed about many of the issues that they report. More recently you hear commentators saying, Oh, the trade deficit is a horrendous problem. Well, in any kind of meaningful economic sense, there’s no trade deficit. International trade is always balanced. If they don’t know that, then of course they’re going to say it’s a deficit. They’ll say we buy more from Japan than Japan buys from us. Well, so what? I buy more from my grocer than he buys from me. And he buys more from the wholesaler than the wholesaler buys from him. The problem is they’re only looking at what we call the goods account and ignoring the capital account.

TNI: Can you name any specific reforms that might help turn things around?

Williams: There’s only one, and it has a relatively low probability of actually succeeding. But if it did succeed, I think it would be a start. There’s a group of young people who call themselves Free State Project, and they have a Web site called freestateproject.org. They’re trying to get about 20,000 Americans, liberty-oriented Americans, to move to one state. They’re already decided on the state of New Hampshire. They want to peaceably take over the legislature and the executive, through the democratic process; and they want to also peaceably elect senators and congressmen; and having done that, they want to negotiate with Congress to obey the United States Constitution.

Not many of the members have gone as far as I’m suggesting, but I would say they should negotiate with Congress to obey the Constitution; and if Congress fails to obey the Constitution, then issue a unilateral Declaration of Independence.
People have said to me, Well, we’ve already been through secession once, and it didn’t work. And I tell them, No, we haven’t been through secession just once. It’s been twice. First, we seceded from King George and Britain, and that was successful. The second one, when the Confederate states thought to secede, was unsuccessful. So we’re batting .500, and I’d like to break the tie.

TNI: Finally, if you could recommend one book for Americans to read, what would it be?

Williams: It would probably be Frederick Bastiat’s The Law. He lays down a philosophy that explains what government is. He’s been very, very influential in the way that I look at some things. He asks, How can you determine whether there’s been legalized plunder? And he says: See if government does something that, if a person did the same thing privately, he would go to jail.

For example, I could see an elderly lady sleeping out on a grate in the dead of winter, and I could come up to you with a gun in my hand, and say, “Sir, give me your $200.” Then, having gotten your $200, I’d go down and buy the lady some food and housing and medical attention. Well, most people would say I would be guilty of theft, regardless of what I did with the money.

So I ask them: Is there any conceptual distinction between that act, and when the government—when the agents of Congress, the IRS—comes up to me and says: “Williams, you know that $200 you made last week that you planned to buy some nice wine with? You will not do that. You’ll give it to us, and we will go downtown and help the lady out.”

Bastiat would say there’s no conceptual distinction between those two acts—that the first act is illegal theft where you go to jail, and the second act is legalized theft. Both acts involve taking the rightful property of one person and giving it to another, to whom it does not belong. Bastiat doesn’t actually explain it the way I do, but the gist of what he’s saying in his book is identical.

TNI: I understand now why you’re such a good teacher. I wish I could come to your classes. Thank you for spending time with TNI.

Williams: Well, thank you.

This copyrighted interview is reprinted from the March 2006 issue of The New Individualist. For more information about the magazine, click here:

http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-42-1328-New_Individualist.aspx

Articles and Press Releases Written by Sara Pentz

2007-07-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

What Makes a Good Writer
Start With The Who

By Sara Pentz

Then ask the how, when, where and what. These questions are the basis of good writing. But the essence of writing is the answer to the question why. Ask why and you'll discover the reason a product was created, a service is needed and a person is valuable.

I am a writer with years of experience in many forms of print and media communications. I have written for radio, television, newspapers, internal journals, trade publications and magazines. I have ghost written articles, optimized press releases, and created speeches in the voice of the speaker. I have written public relations and marketing plans. And I have taught master classes for both small business entrepreneurs and for university students.

I have written about real estate, art and architcture, theater, science, new products, aviation, manufacturing, high tech equipment, lasers and measuring equipment, fashions, the media, search optimization, film and video production, and much more. A good writer can write about any subject with enough research and dedication.

My expertise lies in my ability to pull information from people through a question-asking process that will give the end product a unqiue angle, perspective or insight.

To ask 'why' is to question.

To continue asking 'why' is to understand.

2007-06-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

Universal Healthcare is What's Sicko
By Gen LaGreca

Michael Moore says he made the film, "Sicko," to "ignite a fire for free, universal healthcare." How absurd is it for someone seeking proper healthcare to take an odyssey to Communist Cuba? That Moore's camera-rolling entourage would receive the same healthcare as a Cuban citizen stretches even a child's imagination. His film should be renamed "Another Celebrity Falls for Dictator's Dog-and-Pony Show."

People like Moore believe capitalism is the disease and government takeover the cure for our healthcare ills. They think people have a "right" to free healthcare simply because they need it.

If so, why stop at medicine? Couldn't we claim the same "right" to other necessities? Take food, for instance. What if the government seized control of the food industry and fed us for free with a new entitlement, "Foodcare"?

Initially Foodcare will empty the horn of plenty into your lap. With your appetite and wallet parting company, the lobster you ate only on your birthday will become regular fare, as will your favorite Belgian chocolates and filet mignon.

Because the same idea occurs to 300 million others, costs skyrocket, and a Foodcare crisis develops. Big Brother can no longer foot the bill for your busy mouth, so he must limit your mastication. This requires new agencies, bureaucrats, and a 100,000-page rulebook.

You visit your favorite restaurant to find it changed. Gone are the tablecloths, flowers, and cheerful hostess to greet you, enhancements you had gladly paid for in the price of your meal. The Department of Restaurants eliminated them as frivolous indulgences of the people’s resources.

The menu is reduced to a few modest offerings. Missing are the savory specials of the talented chef, whose last creation took forty pounds---not of ingredients but of paperwork---to gain approval from the New Recipe Administration.

You want steak, but getting it requires that the chef call a central office to obtain pre-authorization. With the clock ticking and a long line waiting to slide into your barely warm seat, you order hamburger instead. You notice your neighbor eating steak—and sitting at the best table. You remember when he was laid off and you bought him dinner. Back then, he thanked you for your charity and quickly got another job. But now that he has a “right” to food, he's stopped working to eat courtesy of your tax dollars.

You barely recognize the frazzled chef buried in paperwork. The once happy figure doting over your every need now slaves for a new master, one that denies his fee for serving Cognac, second-guesses his decision to make cheesecake, requires a Certificate of Need to buy an oven. You know that under Foodcare he's merely biding time till retirement. When he goes, you doubt he’ll be replaced because enrollment in chef’s schools has dropped as the number of bureaucrats hounding them has risen.

As time passes, everyone forgets how it started, but the crisis worsens. Michael Moore makes a pilgrimage to North Korea in search of adequate food.

You realize that the amount you pay into Foodcare exceeds what you had paid when you bought your own food and didn't obtain it for “free.” Then you didn't pay for bureaucrats and inspectors to tell you what to eat, or for those milking the system like your neighbor. Besides emptying your wallet, Foodcare has drained all the pleasure you once derived from eating.

Politicians blame their scapegoat, the capitalists---grocers, chefs, food manufacturers---and pass laws to prevent any from owning a Mercedes while someone goes to bed hungry in America. They tell us profit is evil and free food for all is a moral ideal.

You wonder: Is there something wrong with this picture? The ideal isn't the private system, with happy chefs and grocers earning a good living in return for their talent and entrepreneurial risk, and satisfied customers enjoying a Shangri La of affordable food. The ideal isn't a spectacular abundance, with everyone's standard of eating---including the poor---raised dramatically, and this achieved without government force---without fleecing taxpayers and robbing consumers and suppliers of their freedom to make their own personal choices and to interact voluntarily. Instead, the ideal is to transform free, self-determining individuals into state-controlled puppets.

The Foodcare scenario is actually playing out in healthcare. Once the gold standard of the world, American medicine has fallen to its knees from decades of crippling regulation, with the final blow about to come from universal healthcare.

To stop this despotism we must repudiate the notion that healthcare is a right. No one has a right to demand for free the goods and services produced by others. We have the right to liberty, which means the freedom to take action to further our own lives---to work, earn money, and pay for the things we need---while respecting the same rights of others. We don't have any right to enact laws to seize people's money, control their activities, and force them to provide services on terms dictated by Big Brother.

No good can result when the means used to achieve it are plunder and coercion. Universal healthcare merits the label "sicko"---or more accurately "tyranny."

Genevieve (Gen) LaGreca is the author of Noble Vision, an award-winning novel about a doctor's fight for freedom in a state-run health system. www.wingedvictorypress.com

2007-03-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

THE NECESSITY OF SYNERGISM IN SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
Why do we advocate using all elements of SEM?
Because to do so will make websites more successful and profitable!

While it may seem like a cliché to talk about the importance of synergy in life and business, it is not. In fact, successful businesses thrive on synergy, the process that allows greater results from two or more influences or agents acting together. Good marketing professionals know this.

The definition of synergy explains why it is critical to Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

* It is a mutually advantageous conjunction where the whole is greater than the

sum of the parts;

* It is a dynamic state in which combined action is favored over the sum of

individual component actions;

* It is behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken

separately.

Roget’s Thesaurus gives us some interesting synonyms for the synergistic force:

- cooperation, mutual effort, alliance, assistance, collaboration, combined effort,

in concert, harmony, symbiosis, teamwork, union, unity.

Search Engine Marketing calls for a unique kind of synergy. It requires that the elements that make Search Engine Marketing (SEM) successful be allied in harmony with each other. Several important elements of SEM, when combined, produce results that are far greater than if only one or two of the elements are used to optimize a website. These elements include the use of ‘natural’ and ‘editorial’ Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click, plus an assortment of other issues including web design, landing pages and email capture.

In this document we will address how and what elements need to be combined in order to establish the whole. They are the code and content of natural SEO. Why editorial search engine results are perceived to be more trustworthy and fact that editorial coverage is 3 to 5 times more effective than advertising. Why content, content, content, is the most important aspect of SEM and how and why articles placed on websites, if properly created content will substantially increase rankings and traffic. And why a properly optimized press release will reach targeted writers and editors by allowing their filters to identify content relevant to their area of expertise.

Other issues dealt with here include how and why Pay-Per-Click delivers immediate, guaranteed results. In addition, writing targeted titles and descriptions for your keywords and key phrases, and developing targeted landing pages to give your site multiple points of entry will dramatically improve your PPC results. Why the first step of SEM is doing your homework; why it is vital to research keywords thoroughly BEFORE writing web copy and other marketing and editorial materials. How email campaigns can be a powerful marketing tool as another part of the synergy mix.

There is a discussion of how and why converting visitors can be managed. Conversion rate is a key website advertising metric that measures how well or how badly website is doing regardless of traffic levels. Website tracking and analytics monitor visitors’ behavior. These statistics are used to make decisions that will benefit the overall effectiveness of the website. Why A/B split testing increases conversion rates, challenges assumptions and solves problems. How this form of testing determines which elements on a page are helping the performance of a web page, and which are not.

Statistics show that by using SEM elements synergistically websites become more successful. Each element helps individually to push and convert a website visitor from a casual viewer to a buying customer. That’s called conversion. And it must be done almost instantly. That’s why design, ease of navigation and content are so critical to the mass, as well. If a serious visitor lands on a website and is confused or repelled by the design, he will leave within about two seconds.

Studies indicate that SEM used in concert with all SEO elements is an effective brand builder and this branding effect is amplified when all elements of SEM are coordinated by the marketing team. Teamwork involves understanding the SEM elements, knowing their value and working with them to increase sales and ROI.

By taking advantage of all SEM opportunities, you greatly increase your chances of being first-in-mind from the searcher’s perspective.

Let’s take e a look at the SEM options.

Natural SEO

Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process that aligns a website's code and content with strategic keyword phrase targeting and ultimately assisting a search engine algorithm in understanding a website's keyword focus. SEO can be simple for some websites, while others may require intense website code, content, navigation and internal linking changes. This form of SEO increases the natural/organic search engine rankings.

Editorial SEO
Editorial Search Engine Optimization involves several elements: the way the web copy is written, how and where copy is used, why particular copy is chosen for the site, the use of optimized articles with notable references and links, and the distribution of optimized press releases that will link to various landing pages on the website. All of these elements must be included simultaneously in order to gain a higher click-rate for the site.

Editorial search engine results are perceived to be more trustworthy. Editorial provides a site with real branding and trust, if the content is written properly. It is a fact that editorial coverage is 3 to 5 times more effective than advertising. These results can be likened to articles that appear in a magazine. The credibility that enhances the website is superior to that of an advertisement in almost all cases.

Content, Content, Content
Content is the most important aspect of SEM. Since we often liken the ‘property’ we own on the Internet to ‘real estate,’ the idea that it is all about location, location, location can be converted to content, content, content. Search engines feed and thrive on content. This is what the web users are searching for and because of this - content is also what the search engines are seeking. If properly created content will substantially increase rankings and traffic.

There are many forms of content that one can add to a website including specifically defined web page content, articles, blogs, forums, podcasts and videocasts. This also includes content that is on other sites and is linked to your site. Content must be absolutely targeted to an audience you have selected and then it must be very well written. The best written and intelligent copy by a professional writer will give you a higher visibility, trust and respect (branding, too) than copy that is not well written.

The difference between writing copy for websites and writing copy for articles is like apples and oranges. Web copy must be keyword rich and that requires the use of measuring the value of the keywords for the site and using them throughout the copy in a manner acceptable by the search engines.

Press Releases
Sending a press release to the media is part of the mix – and an important one. Especially with the expanding number of people writing about products and services in the fast-paced media world that now includes Internet journalists. Newspapers, magazines, journals, blogs and other formats have a voracious appetite for content. They consume information; chew it up, spit it out and need more incoming information to write about the next day, week, month or hour.

A search engine optimized press release begins with a strategy session on which search terms should be targeted. Linking optimized press releases to the website helps reporters, writers and commentators learn more background about your content and at the same time gives the search engines links to follow. Optimized releases also immediately notify search engines of the existence of the new web pages that the release links to. Including photos to download and identifying graphics with keywords will give the journalists additional content to include in articles and other content they are creating.

A properly optimized press release will reach targeted writers and editors by allowing their filters to identify content relevant to their area of expertise. It can also reach potential clients and interested parties. When the press release is published, the content is often expanded exponentially. It is also true that optimized press release will automatically generate pages rich in optimized content and even spawn email blasts based on keyword selection by companies like Google, Yahoo and others interested in the subject of the press release.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Pay-Per-Click delivers immediate, guaranteed results. It has been said that Pay-Per-Click is very close to a pure form of a market economy because advertisers bid on "keywords" that they believe their target market will type into the search bar when they are looking for their product or service needs and desires.

PPC advertising provides website owners the opportunity to buy their way to better positions on search results pages. These ads are called "sponsored links" or "sponsored ads" and appear next to and sometimes above the natural or organic results on the page. The advertiser pays only when the user clicks on the ad.

PPC is important to the overall plan of SEM because it has the advantage of almost instant, guaranteed results. In addition, PPC gives real time market research while also generating revenue. In other words, when you buy your keyword and see the results in visits and action taken, you have done your research because you now know which keywords work for the specific website.

There is a very popular approach from some search engine marketers to focus only on using PPC for keyphrases. As a result the site does not achieve high natural rankings. While this approach can certainly save money, it runs counter to the branding benefits that are naturally a part of the marketing plan.

Writing targeted titles and descriptions for your keywords and key phrases, and developing targeted landing pages to give your site multiple points of entry will dramatically improve your PPC results. These results can be further improved with A/B Split Testing and Multivariable Testing. These landing pages also need to be optimized to attract natural traffic and increase your PPC results.

Keyword Research and Use

One must know exactly what keywords to purchase and to use in the web copy. This is actually the first step of SEM because if the keywords are insignificant or off target the site will not be recognized for its value. Careful research of the company’s business and the way search engines look at those related keywords is the ‘key’ to success. Choosing the wrong ones will greatly reduce your results.

This is why it is vital to research keywords thoroughly BEFORE writing web copy and other marketing and editorial materials. The keywords you identify should also be used in your offline marketing and advertising campaigns. Waiting until after the site is built to identify the proper keywords will add costs to the project, cause delays and loss of revenue. Choosing good keywords is the basis on which all of your future traffic will flow.

Assign certain keyword phrases to specific pages and build the content around them. There are “hotspots” on web pages that search engines look for when they are indexing your pages. The most important hotspots are the page title, the page description and the page heading. By incorporating keyword phrase into these hotspots the search engine will ‘understand’ what your page is all about. Sprinkle in some eye-popping copy with your keyword phrase repeated once or twice to increase keyword density.

Comprehensive keyword research by its very nature improves ROI.

Email Campaigns

Successful companies that spend significant time and money on SEM know that getting the customer to the website is just part of the process. When they arrive having a well planned email opt-in registration and email marketing program will further increase company ROI.

According to a MediaPost MediaDailyNews article, Jupiter Media Metrix says that one-third of companies plan to spend more than 5 percent of their marketing budgets on email. That represents serious spending in this medium and makes a statement about the importance of email campaigns.

Email can be a powerful marketing tool and is another part of the synergy mix. Email content must be relevant, targeted and informational. It is more likely you'll have to package sales-y content in such a way that it entertains and holds interest. Boring content, or content not consistent with the value proposition, will cause people to unsubscribe.

Deliver what consumers expect. Establish yourself and your website as a credible source in order to accomplish the goal of building customer relationships. It is also important to use a reputable “White Listed” email service provider to insure the highest deliverability rates and one that will keep you in compliance with the email spam laws.

Determine what the ultimate value proposition is for consumers. Why would they want to receive email from your company? What content would they expect? Of all the components needed to successfully build an effective email list, the most important component is the value proposition to the consumer. This is best achieved by hiring professional writers with email experience.

Website Conversion
Conversion rate is a key website advertising metric that allows you to measure how well or how badly your website is doing regardless of traffic levels. Conversion rates vary from website to website. The conversion measurement is the number of visitors who make a purchase directly from the website as a percentage of total visitors.

In a medium that makes it so easy for a searcher to look elsewhere, conversion is critical. The net effect of raising your conversion rate from one to two percent is the same as doubling your traffic.

The key to conversion is targeted key phrases that define your traffic before arrival to the site. It is not uncommon to see conversion rates skyrocket in the quality of traffic by improving targeted key phrase advertising or organic search engine optimization. With PPC campaigns, you can further boost conversion rates by sending visitors to highly targeted landing pages.

The conversion rate for lead generation sites is the number of visitors as a percentage of total visitors who opt-in and give you the right to contact them again. The website should induce visitors to sign up for more information or register to become a part of your community. A successful convert is, therefore, someone who has subscribed to your newsletter, filled in your contact forms, or registered to get more information.

Website Tracking and Analytics

Delivering on the promise and proving it are a vital part of the synergy of SOM. With certain tracking and analytical facts, you can understand visitors’ behavior in order to make decisions that will benefit the overall effectiveness of the website, understand visitor behavior and increase web traffic.

Analytics tell you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. They tell you how to focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver ROI and improve your site to convert more visitors.

Analytics provide a quick and easy-to-understand breakdown of a visitor's website movements and behavior. These facts explain the way visitors react to keywords and the navigation paths they take to get where they want to go. Such programs determine which keywords result in greater sales purchases, how long a visitor stays at any given page, and which page they are on when they exit the site. They also determine the quality and effectiveness of a landing page. And, they confirm how pay-per-click campaigns are performing.

If your site doesn't sell online, you can still learn the effectiveness of specific calls-to-action through analytics. Email campaigns can be analyzed for effectiveness. Analytics can determine and help explain why people sign up for your newsletter, for example, and what they have in common with other people.

A/B Split Testing and Multivariable Testing

A/B split testing increases conversion rates, challenges assumptions and solves problems. It determines which elements on a page are helping the performance of a web page, and which are not. For instance, one might typically test two different headlines on a landing page. One of them will outperform the other and you will know which is better for the web page.

A/B split testing assists in the understanding of visitor behaviors and priorities when visiting your site. Used as a diagnostic tool this type of testing will determine what is going wrong and how to fix it. A/B split testing can dramatically challenge assumptions about the best way to design or write a page.

Testing yields the most valuable results only when they are done repeatedly. A one-shot test will determine very little. Make a consistent habit of testing. Cumulative tests over time can have a dramatic impact on the success of the website.

A/B split testing enables you to try variations of your site's landing pages, shopping cart, site search and layout to optimize conversion rates and increase site profitability. It can explain how to create variations of a site's dynamic and static content; how to run A/B tests, multivariate tests, and split tests on visitors, and how to track, segment and analyze visitor conversion behavior, in real-time.

Summary

When these seemingly separate elements of SEM are combined in a unified marketing plan they can complement each other and bring continuing benefits to your business infinitely and exponentially. It may well be the bottom line difference between in house and outsourced expertise.

Research shows that the average increase is 108% when search engine marketing is outsourced vs. 32% when done in-house. While both of these numbers are good, the higher result is worth the extra cost.

Building a successful web entity is much like building a skyscraper. You build from the ground up. That’s why the first step of SEM is researching keywords thoroughly BEFORE writing web copy. Before the building begins, an architect devises an overall plan, including the design (branding and trust) of the building, the construction (copy and editorial elements), the purpose and the goal (sales and information). His architectural plans are based on solid engineering (testing, analytics, tracking, redevelopment and ranking).

Similarly, when the many important elements of SEM are combined, the whole produces results that are far greater than if only one or two of the elements are used to optimize a website.

Do not be surprised when the kind of SEM investment in the parts to create a great whole, advocated here, increases profits and value. It is in the principle of synergism that marks the proof.

2007-03-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

PODCASTING PRODUCTION

IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF

THE GROWING NEED TO COMMUNICATE YOUR MESSAGE

OVER THE INTERNET

AS WELL AS TO MARKET YOUR PODCAST

By Sara Pentz

Sara Pentz Production provides podcasting services to businesses, trade and educational associations, non-profits and individuals. We coach, train, create, interview, record, produce, market and post-produce Podcasts. We create Podcasts with content for an audience that wants to listen when they want, where they want, and how they want. We also bring advertisers together with podcasters who would like to make money on their show.

Using our marketing expertise we allow our fully produced Podcasts to be optimized for the search engines. We customize programs and solutions designed to increase Podcast visibility for key audiences by generating highly targeted, well qualified search-engine-generated leads and inquiries. These include keyword research, Google Sitemap Feeds, usability analysis, web analytics, pay-per-click management, contextual advertising, email marketing and ROI tracking.

Producer Sara Pentz works with clients to create relevant formatting and content for Podcasting. She is a professional journalist with a background as a television news reporter/anchor, a radio show host, magazine writer/editor, and newspaper writer.

A podcast is generally analogous to subscription to a recorded television or radio series. Multi purpose podcasts can fill a company’s needs in many ways including making them an authority in their field. You can send your podcasts to employees, subcontractors, business associates, consumers, potential buyers or the media ––– and target each with a specific message.

As a content provider we make a podcast file available on the Internet with an RSS feed. The only requirement is that the file be accessible through some known URL.

HISTORY OF PODCASTING

(With Thanks in part to Wikipedia.com)

Podcasting is the method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio or video programs, over the Internet using RSS or syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Podcasting, as such, has evolved from the original concept, and initial appeal, that allowed individuals to distribute their "radio shows" over the Internet. The process was officially labeled podcasting in early 2004.

The editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary declared "podcasting" the 2005 word of the year, defining the term as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player." It is now generally accepted that the term podcast also includes video.

The concept of podcasting was suggested as early as 1994 but its technical components of using an RSS feed became widely available by 2001. In 2003 regular podcasts started showing up on well-known websites and software support spread.

The system quickly became used in a wide variety of other ways, including distribution of school lessons, official and unofficial audio tours of museums, conference meeting alerts and updates, and by police departments to distribute public safety messages.

Today, podcasting presents a way for individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses and corporations to communicate in a meaningful way to the many millions who participate in the reception of podcasts. It is a powerful marketing tool for those who know how to take advantage of its many benefits.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

(With Thanks again to Wikipedia.com)

The term podcast can mean both the content and the method of delivery. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. Though podcasters' websites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital audio formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically using software capable of reading feeds like RSS.

RSS is a simple XML-based system that allows users to subscribe to their favorite websites. Using RSS, a webmaster can put content into a standardized format, which can be viewed and organized through a RSS-aware software.

The publish/subscribe model of podcasting is a version of push technology, in that the information provider chooses which files to offer in a feed and the subscriber chooses among available feed channels. While the user is not "pulling" individual files from the Web, there is a strong "pull" aspect in that the receiver is free to subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) a vast array of channels.

Podcasting is an automatic mechanism whereby multimedia computer files are transferred from a server to a client, In general, these files contain audio or video, but also could be images, text, PDF, or any file type.

Interestingly, it is estimated that perhaps only 20% of podcasts are actually consumed on portable media players; 80% are consumed on the PC onto which they are downloaded. Some applications, such as iTunes, also automatically make the newly downloaded episodes available to a user's portable media player.

The downloaded episodes can then be played, replayed, sent to others or archived as with any other computer file.

To conserve bandwidth, users may opt to search for content using an online podcast directory or Podcatcher. Some directories allow people to listen online and initially become familiar with the content provided from an RSS Feed before deciding to subscribe. For most broadband users, bandwidth is generally not a major consideration, it could fairly be stated that Podcasting itself is a technology that came with the increases in global bandwidth and broadband popularity.

2007-02-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Venture Capital Angels: Financing for Start Ups
TECH COAST VENTURE NETWORK FORUM

First in a Series “Where Mind Meets Money”

January 26, 2006, Hilton Costa Mesa

Capital ‘angels’ have some $60 to $90 billions to invest in business start ups, but they complete only one or two deals a year–––ranging from $5,000 to $500,000. The funding is available. How does the entrepreneur find it? This was the major message sent at the January 26, 2006 meeting of TCVN’s new series of Forums.

In order to compete for that money you have to have a clearly defined roadmap to funding. It is critical to remember that venture capitalist want to make money as much as the business owner does. To vie for that money you have to be prepared to explain how your business is going to be profitable for everyone involved. Entrepreneurs must also communicate in what way their product or service is needed because that’s what most angels want to know.

Bart Greenberg, TCVN chairman, is launching a series of TCVN programs, “Roadmap to Funding,” specifically designed for unaffiliated angel investors. The programs will focus on how to approach Tech Coast Angels . "We believe there is a very large, untapped source of funding for early-stage deals,” he explains, “I believe many people would like to help fund early-technology companies but simply do not have the time or resources to join formal angel groups. Through out Forums we can help these people meet entrepreneurs and better understand the process of investing in early opportunities.”

Other Forums will endeavor to help early-stage companies break out of "the entrepreneur's dilemma" by bringing credibility, experience and skills to rapidly accelerate progress–––and help position companies for ongoing success in their business’ key fundraising endeavors.

SUMMARY

January 26, 2006, Forum, Hilton Costa Mesa

By Sara Pentz

There are several types of angel investors: the serial angles, freelance angels and the operation value-added angels–––all of whom want to work with start up businesses to build for success. Actually, there are a flock of angels–––they can be individuals working in groups, enthusiast individuals or retirees, and financial tourist angel who are just looking around. There are socially responsible angels; neighborhood angels who live right down the street. And there are celebrity angels who may just be tire-kicking angels.

If you want a private equity investor, there are certain rules to follow. First, you must have a business plan in order to meet the right people. And you must know how to get your deal done. The rules include a good knowledge and understanding of business planning, angel/venture capital financing, capital raising strategies, high tech marketing, strategic alliances, and knowledge of how mergers & acquisitions work.

At this particular meeting of TCVN, the panel consisted of Robert W. Price, Senior Research Fellow, Global Entrepreneurship Institute, Richard J. Dadamo, Founder, RJD Associates, Inc. and Christopher Romine, CEO, S.two Corporation; panel moderator Matt Ridenour, Managing Director, Momentum Venture Management, LLC, who guided and contributed to the discussion.

THE VENTURE CAPITAL PANEL SPEAKS

by Sara Pentz

Robert Price is currently working on his eleventh book. He is world-renowned as an expert in the field of entrepreneurial capitalism and early-stage information technology companies. His clients' business plans have raised nearly $24 million from angel investors, venture capitalists, and strategic capital partners.

He spoke about the importance of having a roadmap for funding. “Know how to raise money, structure your business, and take the risks of the trade,” he explained. “It’s not enough to have an idea about a business you want to grow. You have to know how to put the pieces of puzzle together, and how to get the deal done. You have to know the venture-drill process, the packaging, the placing, the presenting–––what the environment wants and needs in order to buy into your concept. You have to build the business plan. You have to find the right individuals to support you. You have to know where you are on the food chain or the investors will pass you by. You have to be ready for hard work. You have to be ready to win.”

Essentially, that was the themed content of the evening’s discussion. These are commandments entrepreneurs have heard repeatedly. The value of hearing them from these experts was to hear the discourse, the exchange of ideas, and the empathy and support the three exude for the process of business building. It is always a motivational experience.

Panel member Richard (Dick) Dadamo is founder of RJD Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm that offers mentoring support to company presidents and owners of small companies that have sales under $20 million. As a serial angel investor, and an active member of the Tech Coast Angels, he has made a number of investments in start-ups. With more than thirty-five years of experience in the corporate world, he is well known as a mentor and friend. His advice is always practical and down-to-earth.

Dadamo strongly urges, “You have to realize that if you are an entrepreneur–––this is your life. You have to get to a point of due diligent, spending about 50-100 hours preparing your project for the investor. It’s all about discipline. If you don’t want to make money, we can’t make money. Plan the money. Review your story. Use common sense. Do all these things before you turn off the investor. They don’t care if you have the solution. They want to understand the need.”

Price talks about the emotional contact between the entrepreneur and the investor, citing one case in particular, “My job was to figure out how to get the angel in front of this technology in order for him to understand the concept. We used a trade show. He stood there and watched the look on people’s faces when we showed them what we did. He then stepped up to the plate. We used only our own money to develop the technology. We believed in what we were doing. If we didn’t find that next round of capital it was all for naught.”

Moderator Matt Ridenour agrees with the idea of emotional contact, “You can almost track the need for emotion contact versus the need for data content.” Ridenour has been a principal in more than 25 private market transactions with an aggregate value of more than $200 million. He has been active in private equity and venture capital initiatives, and as a successful CEO in early stage companies.

Christopher Romine, CEO S.two Corporation was the third panelist. His company is based in Northern Nevada, and manufactures portable and fixed-based digital recorders for field and studio production, and postproduction applications. Although in the early-stage of development, the Company currently serves markets worldwide through industry-leading distribution and customer support partners. At S.two Chris is leading a venture team of domain experts who are creating innovative solutions addressing digital film workflow problems.

As a manager and entrepreneur, Romine suggests that the relationship process is critical.

“With an initial investor the relationship is a process–––especially if he is lower down on the food chain. You have to develop of a relationship of trust. As we moved up the food chain in our business the relationship became much less important. So the history becomes more important. Relationships are important but you must not forget the credibility issues.”

In a discussion about business plans, Price, Dadamo and Ridenour each agree that you have to know what you’re doing. “The concept of creating a business plan forces you to know what you have to do first–––who are you going to call and why you need to have a specific understanding of what they are doing.” “Their first questions will be why should I not make this investment, especially if the management team is not in place.” “The investor will ask himself what are some of the deal killers on this proposition?” “Often early stage companies move too fast and we see them rewriting the business plan every several months. You must articulate what you fundamentally do in that plan in the presentation. What’s the right format? What is basically enough?” Adds Dadamo, “Make sure the first paragraph includes everything. Nobody wants 58 pages of financials. Tell them what is unique, where there is a need. You must convince the investors of this

“Trust and credibility equals comfort,” a tip offered by Dadamo. “If there’s more than one person involved in the project, you have a team. Team, team, team–––you get credibility from the team. You must also champion an investor who gives you credibility” Says Romine, “The team is the answer because we tend to get too narrowly focused. Tunnel vision is bad. Team has built-in critics. The chemistry builds on the temperament but the team is diverse enough to be critical and keep everyone on the path.”

“It’s an ongoing thing,” Adds Romine. “Once they give you the money, you don’t have to keep them in the loop, so if you do keep the relationship you maintain your credibility and they become part of what’s going on.” Price: “It takes passion–––sell, sell, sell, sell. If the entrepreneur doesn’t have passion, how are they going to go out and sell the product? The team has the passion. That’s the word I like best.”

Price says there is more to it than just the internal team. “You have to get the venture team involved. Ask yourself how to do this. Think of an external team. Think of people who would sit on an advisory board. This is not a director’s board. Attorneys, bankers, accountants, other professional guys–––you can knock around ideas together. They can be your test flight guys.”

Ridenour seconds this idea. “If you don’t have credibility be honest borrow some. The scariest thing you can do is to ask someone for money – so ask them for advice. Get some of their time and, if you have merit, they will get attached and want to get involved. They may even introduce you to the right people.”

Adds Dadamo, “Every business plan has an advisory board. Give them a certificate–––these white hairs and the no hairs. They know where the money is, the help is, and the people are. Don’t hesitate. I run into this problem all the time–––whether the guy really wants to be an entrepreneur. You have to be wiling to work for no pay. It all about commitment and passion. We all have to be on the same page. It’s sweat equity. If you’re getting into this just for the enjoyment, that may not be the place to go.” Price tells it straight, “You have to be an event banger. You have to ask for the money. What’s key is triangulation–––know someone who knows someone who know someone.”

The Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) is dedicated to assisting, educating and connecting early stage growth companies with information and advisors for the purpose of raising money. TCVN has been directly or indirectly responsible for the establishment and growth of a significant number of new and early stage businesses. Through its major program, the Venture Forum, TCVN has had over 150 programs on topics to assist and educate entrepreneurs. More than 400 entrepreneurs, CEO's, investors and other presenters have shared their professional business knowledge and experiences.

(Compiled and written by Sara Pentz, www.sarapentz.com, January 31, 2006)

2007-01-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

Search Engine Marketing White Paper - SEM Best Practices

Best Practices White Paper Summary

By Sara Pentz for Gerry Grant, CEO/Founder of Search-Optimization.com

ABSTRACT:
Search engine marketing (SEM) is the most effective form of marketing available today., The use of best practices consistently over an extended period of time will achieve maximum results. For companies to remain competitive, a properly built, professionally-optimized website is a must.

It is imperative that marketing executives insert Search Engine Marketing best practices into their marketing plans immediately or risk losing market share and brand equity. Effective optimization is an ongoing process—a corporate commitment, really—not just a one-time purchase. Because the stakes are high it is best to consider using an SEM service provider.

INTRODUCTION:
Best Practices refers to processes that have been developed by businesses to achieve maximum results with an efficient use of company resources. This White Paper is a st art at documenting the best practices for the Search Engine Optimization profession. We will attempt to educate decision makers in the corporate world about why SEM is critical to the success of the business and how to implement it into their marketing mix.

This Paper, Search Engine Marketing Best Practices, will evolve to include information from many sources. It will eventually incorporate web pages, blogs, forum postings and interactive content, allowing others to comment and contribute. The Paper will have lines of sight to additional content by using embedded links and will be available online as a living document. Visit www.search-optimization.com to register for additional installments of Search Engine Marketing Best Practices, or to contribute your thoughts or comments.

Many companies are so happy with their SEM results they do not implement a full search engine marketing campaign, leaving a lot of revenue unrealized. I recommend that in order to achieve SEM best practices, a company’s marketing team, in conjunction with a specialist in SEM, should map out the full extent of what can be accomplished using all SEM “components”—while maintaining a synergy with other marketing efforts.

The plan should include:

Keyword market research and analysis.
Strategic pay-per-click (PPC) program management and media buying. The right combination can reduce per-visitor costs by up to 40%.
Website redesign and editorial search optimization--the two most powerful and effective methods of quickly increasing search engine visibility and achieving higher rankings.
Analytics and ROI tracking to identify the most effective search engines, phrases, and keywords that allow you to track campaign activity and results in extraordinary detail.
Powerful, interactive email campaigns capture your target visitors’ permission to send additional information.

As with traditional marketing, search engine marketing best practices begins with in- depth market research and benchmarking.

The biggest search engine marketing mistake is made right from the beginning—choosing the wrong target keywords or key phrases.

Keyword market research and analysis is the foundation of SEM best practices, including brainstorming keywords, phrases, and synonyms, assessing key-phrase popularity, and identifying related or industry-specific words. One must identify key-phrase popularity and related or industry-specific words—these will be the most popular, targeted, and convertible search terms.

Strategic Pay-Per-Click (PPC) program management and media buying provide an immediate method of delivering visitors to your site with placement and top rankings on Google, MSN, and Overture, plus a number of other high-quality, lower-cost PPC search engines. Writing targeted titles and descriptions for your keywords and key phrases, and developing targeted landing pages to give your site multiple points of entry will dramatically improve your PPC results. These landing pages also need to be optimized to attract natural traffic and increase your PPC results. To extend your budget even further, it is important to “blend and balance” placements on higher-priced PPC search engines with listings on less-expensive search-engine accounts. The right combination can reduce your per-visitor costs by up to 40% or more.

To maximize ranking, visibility, frequency, and reach, a specialist needs to address the following:

Strategic Pay-Per-Click (PPC) program management and media buying.
Conduct extensive keyword market research.
Develop search-term-specific, keyword-rich landing pages.
Select the most popular, targeted, and convertible search terms.
Identify which keywords/keyword-specific phrases are most effective.
Conduct continuous, industry-specific linguistic research.
Coordinate all traditional marketing with SEM efforts.
Use PPC strategic information in your SEO efforts.
Set up web analytics including click fraud monitoring.
Maintain a database of registered visitors and customers, allowing targeted communications and page delivery.
Develop powerful email campaigns for bulk distribution or to a client base.

Website redesign and editorial search engine optimization are two of the most powerful and effective methods of quickly increasing search engine visibility and achieving higher rankings. Proper site design, page layout, and navigational setup will improve visitor satisfaction and increase revenues. When combined with today’s sophisticated analytics, you will even know what is working and what is not.

SEO Best Practices Research

Determine how well search engines find and interpret the website’s content.
Find out if you’re blocking the search engine spiders.
Create a competitive website analysis to uncover details of your top ten competitors’ ranking strategies and the actions you can take to offset them and gain an advantage.
Create a search visibility report that tracks a search-engine “spider’s” perspective of your site to reveal blocks, dead ends, and overall “spider” compatibility.
Run a search saturation report to see how many page listings you have with the major search engines
Create a keyword density analysis report that shows which web pages aretelling search engines by analyzing keyword frequency.
Establish a keyword effectiveness indicator that reports the number of web pages competing for selected keywords on Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
Record current sales volume.
Create a current server log report to see how many unique visitors your site has.
Run a keyword ranking report to reveal a website’s top 30 rankings, per keyword, across the major search engines.
Use a link popularity report to identify those who are linking to the website in order to calculate how many major search-engine links currently point to it.
Optimize all website images using keywords in names, links and other design techniques.
Write or re-write copy to create “topical community” to make it “search-engine friendly.”
Develop search-engine-specific, keyword-rich pages.
Manually submit site information to major search engines. Seed listings with links from already listed pages and sites.
Prepare the site for submission to top directory listings, including Yahoo and D MOZ.
Develop customized thematic linking strategies and link-popularity programs.
Implement an ongoing PR campaign using optimized press releases.
Produce an ongoing business Blogs and Podcast projects.
Submit articles and white papers to online sites and eZines.
Correct all broken links and create a custom “page-not-found” document
Create a Google site map and optimized site map
Provide continuous, secure, uninterruptible, scalable web hosting.
Install a search appliance on company server to improve on-site search results.

Note: The sales volume, server log report, search saturation report, keyword ranking report and the link popularity report are all excellent benchmarks to evaluate future success.

Best practices SEM requires a market researcher with knowledge in linguistics, a professional copy writer with a knowledge of SEM, including thematic linking and topical community, a graphic artist, a database manager, someone knowledgeable in creating dynamic websites, a PPC management expert, a web analytics expert, a linking strategy expert and a project manager, all with a knowledge of marketing.

Research indicates that it is better to retain the services of a full- service search engine marketing agency rather than attempt to implement SEM in-house. A recent survey conducted by Marketing Sherpa found that in- house SEM efforts produced an average increase of 38% after six months, a very respectable increase. This was compared to the results from outsourcing to an SEM service provider that achieved a more than 100% increase in visitors.

An Orange County Internet Marketing Company

Established in 1994, Search-Optimization.com is an Internet marketing firm dedicated to making clients’ websites work smarter. That translates into more qualified site visitors, enhanced profitability and maximum Return On Investment (ROI). Our clients are medium to large sized to multi–million dollar corporations, advertising agencies, PR firms and the clients they serve.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gerry Grant CEO/Founder Search-Optimization.com, an Orange County Internet Marketing Company, has been actively involved in search engine marketing since 1994.

Additional Resources available at www.search-optimization.com.

2006-12-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute Announces

Capital Campaign of $4M Initiating the College of the United States

Using the Principles of the Montessori Method of Education I
ntegrated with Philosophy, as Applied to the Great Books Program

“The hallmark of a well-functioning mind is the ability to identify facts, analyze
ideas, integrate knowledge, and successfully translate principles into action.”
Marsha Familaro Enright, 2006

(Chicago, IL ––– January 2007) The power of philosophy, the Great Books (http://www.greatbooks.org/) and Maria Montessori’s (http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/montessori.html) theories of education, including study of Classical Liberalism http://www.mises.org/etexts/classical.asp), and Free Market Economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_economy),will constitute the foundation for the College of the United States (www.rifi.com)––a new venture in college education with admission plans set for September 2008. The purpose is to prepare young, bright students for a life of leadership; promoting reason, achievement and individual happiness.

Chicago, IL-based The Reason, Individualism and Freedom Institute, a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Corporation, is the foundation led by College Founder/President Marsha Familaro Enright, (M.A. Psychology) (http://www.rifinst.org/content/view/26/30/)

which is developing this new higher education venture. It is her passion for learning that is responsible for this highly integrated program. Rarely do schools specifically train and nurture students in thinking skills per se. This is the goal of the College of the United States.

The College of the United States will strive to create global leaders of tomorrow capable of fulfilling the vision of the American Founding Fathers. The College will teach students how to become successful men and women of principle and action, effective in spreading the benefits of reason and individualism, and the bounty of liberty worldwide through their work and through their example

Initially, the College will offer a Baccalaureate Degree in Liberal Arts. The curriculum (http://www.rifinst.org/content/view/12/14/) will be unified, in-depth and extensive, addressing essential needs for training in thinking and practical skills, as well as a solid (http://www.rifinst.org/content/view/22/29/) foundation in reality-oriented philosophy applied to history, economics, literature, the arts, mathematics and science to help students effectively use their knowledge in life.

Enright has allied herself with intellectuals across the country to establish the College. Each one of these bright, inquisitive, accomplished advisors and team members brings an impressive set of disciplines, research and work expertise in every field imaginable to the founding and development of the College.

They have come together with the same philosophy about education––that young people are looking for alternatives to the current epistemological and ethical relativism; political and social collectivism and anti-capitalist, anti-business ideas that are prevalent in colleges and universities throughout the country.

About Marsha Familaro Enright, M.A. Psychology
Enright had a dream. In love with learning and concerned about education since childhood, she has spent the past 16 years as the CEO of Council Oak Montessori School, named one of the top 25 private elementary schools in Chicago, Illinois, by Chicago Magazine (http://www.chicagomag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=8642F5EFCEA14A939100AB7214F31861&nm=Archives&type=PubPagi&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle+Title&amp;amp;amp;mid=61BFC65300D24DB58350C761094153A1&tier=4&id=5931EE1557024022AB24A313ED5B0484).

Eminently qualified as a educator, writer, psychological theorist and administrator, Enright is the force behind the College of the United States, an innovative and complete Liberal Arts/Sciences College, along with others who believe that a college of this kind will be a successful enterprise.

About the College of the United States
The Non-Profit Tax Exempt 501 (c)(3) Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute is incorporated in Illinois for development work and as the financial aid arm of the College. Due to Illinois Board of Higher Education regulations, the College itself will be incorporated as a Non-Profit, with a For Profit arm, when sufficient capitalization has been obtained.

The College’s creators have invested more than $150,000 in cash and in-kind donations of time and research. This includes more than three full-time years researching the market, creating programs, and traveling the country marketing the concept.

Seed capital of $70,000 has been received and a major capital campaign seeking monies from sympathetic foundations and individuals has been launched. It is necessary to raise $1M to develop and vet the curriculum, create the organization, train faculty, recruit students, lease buildings and commence a full-blown marketing campaign.

Contact Information:
Marsha Familaro Enright, CEO/President
College of the United States
Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute,
A Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Corporation
9400 South Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL. 60620
www.rifinst.org
info@rifinst.org
Fax: 773-779-1290
Phone: 773.677.6418

Media Contact:
Sara Pentz
sara@sarapentz.com
949.719.0902
Newport Beach, CA

The Value of Image Development - Article

2006-10-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Is Your Image Showing?
By Sara Pentz

People form impressions about us within the first seven to twelve seconds of meeting. Instantaneous judgements are made about how much money we make, how intelligent we are, and whether we are interesting. Those judgments are made based on, among other things, how we dress, the way we behave and what we talk about. Most of us don’t act on those impressions because we know there is often more to the person than what we first see or experience.

In those few seconds of a first impression the direction of our lives can be affected or possibly changed. Even a casual meeting provides the potential for someone to hire us, invest in our company, become our friend, or make a date! If we consider this part of life unimportant, we may find that moving ahead in business or in our social life is ultimately hampered.

With so much resting on our Image, how can we take control of it, understand it, identify it, and polish it?

We develop our Image over time, mostly on a subconscious level. Our Image becomes a non-verbal way of communicating.

Image reflects our values and character, our knowledge and intellect, our sensitivity and objectivity, our ethics and aesthetics, and our personal philosophy. That’s why our Image is important to our success and happiness.

Image is a reflection of everything we do in life. It is a culmination of the conclusions we make which form our core values. It is our morality, and a multitude of decisions we make about everything important to us as we proceed through life. It is the way, for example, that we respond to music or art. It is our view of life, happiness, money, heroes, love, or injustices.

We are often told that to be conscious of our Image is to be selfish and egotistical. That is not so. In addition, we are told not to tamper with Image because it is an unknown quantity! Untrue. Precisely because Image is our first impression we must take control it and make sure the message we send is an appropriate and accurate one.

First, we must be conscious of our Image in order to take control of it, modify it and improve it. We do this by looking carefully at everything about ourselves as if through a mirror. We must ask, how do we look and act; what do we think and how do we communicate? We must evaluate our eye contact, handshake, posture, smile, clothing, hairstyle, make-up, walk, stance, speech, grammar, grace and diplomacy, to name only a few.

Our very appearance can translate directly into power, increasing our self-confidence, as well as solidifying the impression we make. Good grooming, civilized behavior, knowledgeable conversation and polite manners are as important, in a way, as knowing how to close a deal.

It is critical to keep in mind that Image is the backdrop not the feature. It is the canvass upon which the best within us is marvelously reflected. Sometimes we focus on one particularly appealing asset which then becomes the basis for our Image. That is when it is critical to evaluate and reshape the Image.

We see examples everyday of an Image that needs polishing. A skirt that’s too short. A neckline too low. Too much make-up. The caustic prankster. The power manipulator. The insipid handshake. The rude loudmouth.

Excessive hairstyles, makeup, jewelry, and fragrance detract from a professional image, as do worn out, dirty, cheap, or ill-fitting clothes. What you wear should suit, not detract from, your professional and personal role in life.

Inappropriate language, profanity and coarse words are absolutely wrong at any time but particularly at work and in a formal social environment. Some language, words and/or phrases are often grossly out of order in the company of foreigners because their translation could mean something very different than intended. If you’re business is international, know language protocol to avoid an embarrassing international faux pas.

Grammar, voice tone, pitch and volume are an important part of your professional being. You make a statement about yourself by the way you speak. The most dreaded fear is not of dying. It is of standing up in front of an audience and talking. Doing it well will immensely enhance your Image.

Dining finesse tells others a great deal about our understanding of manners. It is never appropriate for a woman to place her purse on a dining table. Soup is spooned away from you toward the center of the bowl. Never place your napkin on the table until everyone leaves at the end of a meal.

Knowing appropriate business etiquette is an important part of fine tuning your Image. Learn how to “work a room” without offending the host or hostess. Excuse yourself successfully from a group conversation. Offer your business card at just the right moment.

There are many issues involved in developing a consistent and appropriately realistic Image. Polish your Image; it’s what you make of it because you ARE the message. While you’re at it, see that your Image reflects the best within you. The results will prove beneficial, personally and financially.

The Value of PR - Article

2006-09-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

It is never too late -
To stimulate more demand for a product or service,

To polish an image, to create better understanding,
Or to underscore the credibility of the business.

By Sara Pentz

Public Relations is the ‘invisible marketing partner.” Everyone in business who wants to be more successful should take advantage of the hidden value of Public Relations.

Public Relations is the creation of goodwill. It is a way of increasing the climate of belief. It is a marketing strategy created specifically to gain acceptance and support for a company's goods and services. It can be most effective when the PR efforts reach an untapped market and motivate people to take action.

Public Relations is publicity, sponsorships, special events, customized promotions, speaking engagements, and newsletters. Like advertising, but without the hard sell, PR makes potential customers aware of the benefits they will receive from the product or service. Public Relations is anything imaginable which produces the desired results.

Public Relations can enhance the achievement of specific business goals. It can boost sales, improve management’s morale, increase client base. Public Relations is often difficult to measure. But it can be extremely successful when the message, identity or image desired in the marketplace is carefully defined and reinforced with uniform consistency.

Publicity, a form of PR, is a way of raising awareness through news or feature stories in the media. Studies have shown editorial space is 3.5 times more believable than paid advertising.

Well-written, factual, accurate, interesting, and targeted press releases are critical to the success of any PR campaign. Nothing can undermine credibility with the media faster than inaccurate or incomplete information, or press releases without a purpose.

The media includes community, local, regional, national and international newspapers, general interest, specialty and trade magazines and publications, radio, television, wire services and the Internet. In some cases, it is wise to include the publications associated with businesses, associations, organizations, and government.

You must have an accurate media list which includes names, addresses, phone and fax number, email addresses, and titles. Correct spelling is fundamental.

The success of any media coverage depends upon the flow of communications within the organization, as well as the flow outward from the organization to the public or intended target market. Get your employees involved in the PR process. Ask them for news stories about their work, as well as anything in their personal lives which is related to their work. These sidebar stories are effective and most easily acceptable to the media.

Editors and producers have the tremendous challenge of coming up with stories to fill their pages and air slots every day of the year. Furthermore, many news operations don’t have the budgets to allow the research necessary to find the good stories. Each reporter in a news room is looking for a scoop or a good story. In fact, there is a healthy competition inside the news room which, along with the freedom to be creative, motivates them to look for a great news story. There is always newspaper space and radio and tv air time to fill. It’s a never-ending process.

The public relations liaison must take advantage of this voracious media. Feeding them credible and unusual news stories will make them happy. Take advantage of this opportunity.

Every time an event is planned, organizers should include publicity as a critical factor in the event’s success. Often the people in charge of publicity can contribute ideas and angles which will generate the media coverage needed to ensure the event’s success.

It is equally important to remember that media coverage is not guaranteed. For this reason it is critical to continually interest members of the media with a range of information from which they can select what interests them as the subject for an article or story. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

One person in your organization should be the media liaison. Nothing aggravates the press and electronic media more than not knowing who to contact and how to locate that person. They also expect that person to have a good working knowledge of the media and be conversant with media language. Include your name, address, phone, fax, e-mail address and web site on every press release.

At the same time, there must be only one “spokesperson” inside the organization. This person funnels information from the company to the media and visa versa.

These are only some of the options one could consider when creating Public Relations efforts for a company, demonstrating that Public Relations is much more than getting your name in the newspaper.

A Successful New Pain Treatment - Press Release

2006-08-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Successful New Pain Treatment for Arthritis, Joint, Muscle, Nerve Damage
USING REVOLUTIONARY CLASS IV LASER THERAPY

(Newport Beach, CA – November 2006) Treating pain reduction is a specialty of Orange County, Southern California-based Dr. Melissa Ritter, D.C., who is using a revolutionary infrared laser beam for conditions such as arthritis, joint/muscle/nerve pain, and fibromyalgia. In many cases up to 90% success rate. http://laserpainreliefoc.com/laser-treatments.php. Injuries brought on by sports, automobile accidents or work-related traumas are treated non-surgically with this laser therapy.

Laser pain reduction therapy works well for swelling, arthritic pain, herniated disc, spinal stenosis, diabetic neuropathies, shingles, sciatic pain, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritics, gout, back, leg and neck problems. http://laserpainreliefoc.com/faq-about-laser-therapy.php. There is little or no sensation during treatment. Occasionally, one feels mild, soothing warmth or tingling.

It has been shown that close-in-time treatments are more efficient at the beginning (every two days or every three days for two weeks) and then at increasingly longer intervals (e.g. once a week for several weeks). Suspending the treatment temporarily after a certain number of introductory sessions does not cause any problems, and can be beneficial.

The laser’s uniquely combined wavelengths expand the therapeutic value by reducing inflammation, pain and, to a degree, scar tissue. Laser light directs biostimulative light energy to the body's cells which then convert into chemical energy. The laser increases local blood flow to the affected area. This new technology combines a synchronized, high-powered, dual wavelength infrared laser in a single beam aimed directly at the origin of the pain. http://laserpainreliefoc.com/how_laser_therapy_works.php.

Slow to heal wounds that have been resistant to treatment, are candidates for laser therapy. This includes fractures, soft tissue injuries, ulcers and multiple trigger points (sore spots in the muscles).

“I have seen patients with serious pain come into my office who sometimes after only one treatment, walk out pain free,” explains Dr. Ritter. “The laser does not always cure problems, but it can, in many cases, completely eliminate the painful effects of a series of problems.” http://laserpainreliefoc.com/case-studies.php.

Contact:
Dr. Melissa Ritter, D.C.
949.250.4059
1100 Quail, Suite 114
Newport Beach (92660), Orange County, Southern California
www.laserpainreliefoc.com

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2006-07-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Jackson’s Camp Along the Natchez Trace
Proffers Champaign and Caviar for the Invited

By Sara Pentz

Travel Ridgeland’s Old Agency Road outside of Jackson and along the way you’ll come upon an authentic replication of an early southern residence reflecting the epitome of Greek Revival style from around 1850, and the vernacular Creole style from the 18th Century. It’s called Jackson’s Camp and it is the private home of Hugo and Susan Daniel Newcomb.

The home represents the rich and authentic architectural detail of the Newcomb’s personal photographic collection of old homes, based on their extensive library of books on period homes and architecture, and their collection of rare and historic original architectural handbooks by Asher Benjamin and Minard LeFever used by builders of the era.

Jackson’s Camp sits along the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway that commemorates an ancient trail connecting southern portions of the Mississippi River to salt licks in today’s central Tennessee. Over the centuries, the Choctaw, Chickasaw and other American Indians left their marks on the Trace. The Natchez Trace experienced its heaviest use from 1785 to 1820 by the “Kaintuck” boatmen that floated the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to markets in Natchez and New Orleans.

Young Andrew Jackson was a regular traveler on Old Agency Road, the original Natchez Trace, in his many roles as a bridegroom in 1791––then as lawyer, pioneer, businessman, entrepreneur and military leader in the Indian wars, as the famous General and hero marching his troops home from the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, as representative of the U. S. government at the Treaty of Doak’s Stand in 1820, and after serving as President of the United States traveling to the new state capital city named after him for a farewell speech to the Mississippi Legislature, and a stay at the old Eagle Hotel in 1840.

Before the l830s you would come across names like Ogburn, Dean, Red Bluff, Breadshers, Ward, Doak, Crowder, Anderson, Shoat, and French camp that represented some of the stands and towns along that Trace. Now the most popular destination along that old trail is Jackson’s Camp and it is more than merely a home for Hugo and Susan Newcomb.

The Camp is set among five lush wooded acres with three buildings and a pool pavilion. The main feature is a courtyard encircled by three verandas. On the fourth side of the house is a conservatory. The environment is old south and peaceful with gardens and fountains to calm the spirit.

Behind this bucolic scene, however, is an active business about to burst into full bloom and if you listen closely you can hear the rattling of pots and pans and smell the fragrance of freshly baked bread.

It is the home of Capital Cities Consultants, the brainchild of Capital City Consultants partners Susan Daniel Newcomb and Nancy C. Bowering. “CCC is an event planning, destination management company,” explains Newcomb. “Most people understand event and meeting planning, but destination management is a phrase or concept not familiar or understood by too many.”

And so, the restored home along that history trail is now a place for contemporary parties, charity fundraisers, weddings, business meetings and special events managed by these two experienced executives who take their recipe for success straight out of the southern tradition of gracious hospitality and business savvy. It’s a rich mix of congeniality, deal-making and new beginnings.

With a total of sixty years experience in organizing, planning and promotion of education, travel, meeting and events, the two women conceive, organize, coordinate and produce events such as board meetings, receptions, seminars, banquets, retreats, or just whatever is needed by any group, corporation and association. “Some of these groups may have a part-time meeting planner on staff,” adds Newcomb, “and CCC can assist this person, who usually has other assigned duties, to make the meeting or event planning arrangements and production of these functions.

Newcomb spent 30 years in healthcare and academia planning educational courses, presenting workshops and managing educational academic programs––developing, planning, and the presentation of conferences, workshops and symposia, and publication of books and journal articles. Bowering's 14-year career in the travel industry included experiences in individual and group travel and tours, She planned and organized business and corporate incentive travel and tours for groups.

Newcomb was looking for something to do after leaving academia. “The business started after a brain storming session with a friend who was looking for employment,” she explains. An initial attempt to begin an event planning consulting company with that friend fell apart when hurricane Katrina wrought its devastation.

“In October 2005, my husband Hugo and I contacted our travel agent, Nancy Bowering, regarding plans for a trip. Nancy and I had become friends over the years, and I got to know more about her family and she learned about mine as she assisted us with travel arrangements. During the discussion regarding trip arrangements, we talked about our future work plans. She was in the process of leaving the travel industry that she had been in for 13-plus years and I was “on hold” with the start up of CCC. After a couple of meetings and discussion, Nancy joined us in November to assist in the start up of the company. There are two of us full time. My husband is part-time handling and reviewing contracts and such details, and others are employed part-time for events as required.

“One thing just grew out of another and we began using our skill sets of working with the public, presenting, teaching and managing people,” she adds. “We had this beautiful space. It was a natural to do event planning and destination management. It’s not fraught without it’s own problems. But you make it happen without the client knowing there’s a catastrophe going on in the kitchen. That’s what makes it fun.”

Capital Cities Consultants has only been in business since January 2006, but already the businesswomen have organized events for groups of up to thirty, held board meetings and seminars in the conservatory, and hosted receptions for over 200 in the spacious courtyard and on surrounding verandahs. “People kept asking us if we were doing weddings,” explains Newcomb. “And we said––well, why not? Having a party is enjoying it while you’re having it. It’s not rocket science. But it does require a lot of attention to details. And I like to add a little extra something that the client hasn’t expected just to make the event extra special.”

Actually, the Newcomb’s had been inviting groups of guests to their home for charitable events since the completion of their property. “My husband sits on a number of boards so we opened our home. Our original intent of the business was to do corporate meetings, but soon we were doing weddings. It just made sense. Now we are doing off premises events. In fact we are planning a ‘Curtain Call Party’ for the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson at Landmark Center when the competition is here from June 17 – July 2.”

A lit of events quickly identify Jackson’s Camp as no boy’s scout retreat. Here parties have been prepared and enjoyed by some of Jackson’s finest including: a fundraiser for the re-election of Ridgeland, MS Mayor Gene McGee, the Mississippi Heritage Trust’s Annual Board Meeting, the Friends of the International Ballet Competition’s Dinner in Stages in 2004, a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Preview Party, The McClean Fletcher Center (A service of Hospice Ministries, Inc. and Mississippi’s First Grief Support Center for Children) fourth annual “Heartstrings” Gala 2005, the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s/Annual Board Meeting, the Madison County Foundation Board Christmas Party, the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, the Madison County Foundation/Annual Board Of Director’s Meeting, the Associated Builders and Contractors/Annual Board Meeting, and the Cancer League of Mississippi VIP Party––just to name a few.

Hugo Newcomb is on the board of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation/Mississippi Chapter and the Mississippi Heritage Trust. Susan’s association memberships and boards memberships include American Dental Hygienist’s Association, Journal of Dental Hygiene/Editorial Review Board, American Dental Education Association, American Association for Dental Research, International Association for Dental Research, American Association of Public Health Dentistry, Dimensions of Dental Hygiene/Editorial Advisory Board, Friends of the International Ballet/Treasurer, Jubilate Chorale/Executive Director.

“As a Destination Management (DMC) company, CCC is the only such company in Mississippi recognized by the Association of Destination Management Executives,” Newcomb adds with pride. “A DMC works with groups from outside the area (state or region) who are interested in having a meeting in the Jackson metropolitan area or other areas within the state of Mississippi.”

As for the future, says Newcomb, “I would like to see CCC become the premier planning and event destination company in Mississippi and this region. Of course, that would mean competing with Memphis and New Orleans. But certainly there’s a geographical swath that’s not getting any attention. There may not be very many people who want to come to Mississippi as a destination now. However I think that in the future that will change.”

While all this business, social, and destination entertaining experience may not have taught the three people behind Capital Cities Consultants how to make sweet magnolia cold shrimp soup with a touch of lime, it is making them the hottest party team in Jackson.

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2006-06-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

BestQuest Teaching Systems®

No Longer Tethered to the Chalk Board

By Sara Pentz

Little Rock, Arkansas, is home to Joe Irby and his wife and six children these days. He grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, part of a family that had been in the construction business for years. Soon after college Irby joined the family business and eventually became vice president in charge of construction operations.

Deep in his heart, however, Irby was more interested in teaching school mathematics than in calculating construction costs. About ten years later, Irby switched from construction to teaching. He had this inner calling. And, while he liked the teaching process and being a school administration, his friends told him his temperament leaned more toward that of an entrepreneur. “Someone told me that school business was too ‘daily’ for my personality,” he explains. “I was more entrepreneurial than managerial. I felt like I understood what he was saying.”

Irby had always realized that while at the blackboard with chalk in hand he was not able to face his students. It became clear to him that he needed to do both simultaneously and suddenly he had a clear view of how he could do that. “Some wise man once said,” Irby claims, “math is better taught on one knee than two feet–––beside the student giving him assistance rather than at the board working the problem for him.” That saying reinforced his budding business concept.

As the idea germinated he tells the story, “My father put up seed money and brought in a group of investors who were willing to fund it. Our investor team was already interested in making a positive impact on education and making a profit as well. I had a personal relationship with them. They were people that had an interest in education and a trust in me. They saw me as having the business acumen to make my ideas happen.”

In fact, one investor who was very interested in the educational side of the proposition told Irby, “I think we’re going to make some money out of this and that will make it even better.” And, so it did.

In January 2001, Irby founded BestQuest Teaching Systems® with the goal of developing an effective and engaging curriculum for students at a reasonable cost. “I wanted to create the kind of tools for the kind of teacher I would like to have had when I was in the schoolroom,” he confesses.

Joe Irby has a worldview about his company, as well. “We live in an increasingly technological world and to do those kinds of jobs you have to have a foundation in mathematics. Our country is not able to produce enough people to staff our companies. As it is, we have to import engineers.” And, so it was with his idea he believed he could help solve that problem.

The BestQuest Teaching System is based on the premise that today's students live in a multimedia world and find it difficult to become excited and motivated by education presented with traditional blackboards and textbooks. Irby had an epiphany. "If you want to reach students today, you've got to compete with video games and cell phones. I knew we had to create a new form of curriculum that was true to standards, yet just as fun and visually exciting as the items distracting students from their studies."

Irby assembled a team of top educators and a leading Hollywood DVD production company to help develop his idea. He also turned to researchers who knew that students learn better when they are intrinsically motivated and personally engaged in the instructional process.

BestQuest’s Algebra’scool® and Math’scool™ use an entertaining animation-based framework to capture students’ attention and teach basic mathematics and algebraic concepts rooted in real-world contexts. The program Algebra’scool® incorporates the use of two animated teachers and four animated students. Math’scool™ is still on the drawing boards.

Both programs relate to students on an appropriate level and through a medium they enjoy. The technological design affords students every opportunity to become excited about and involved in their own learning. Through the innovative delivery system, Algebra’scool and Math’scool lead students to success in learning basic mathematical concepts that will enhance their conceptual thinking for a lifetime.

The company's first product, a full year of Algebra One instruction on DVD, allows educators to develop their own paths of instruction via easy-to-navigate lessons. "We wanted to create a mathematics tool so easy to use that even non-credentialed teachers could teach a subject like Algebra, and get students interested in learning it," explains Irby. "Algebra can be a painful subject for some students to learn. Our program, Algebra'scool, was built with the goal of engaging students in the learning process and helping to personalize algebra through relevant characters and real-world vignettes."

At first Irby wasn’t convinced that DVD was the solution he wanted in the classroom. “I didn’t know the capacity of DVD initially,” he admits. But after meeting with some experts he soon was convinced that DVD would be the ideal blend of content and state-of-the-art technology he wanted. It would also provide the ultimate in interactive navigation and animation.

The DVD program also had multilingual capabilities eliminating fluency issues. It supported superior image quality and durability over VHS. And best of all DVD had the ability to be played in both DVD-equipped computers and televisions connected to DVD players. “Once I saw these advantages, it just made sense to use a DVD player and a TV set to create a dynamic presentation.”

Whether it is being used for whole-class instruction or one-on-one learning, DVD allows teachers and students to select lessons at the touch of a button, pause to allow discussion time or to work on practice sets and examples of practical application.

For those students who need additional instruction, the teacher can re-teach, clarify, and use the menu to review subtopics within the DVD portion of the lesson when needed––before selecting problems that are suitable for independent practice or homework. Irby knows that some students can fall behind in their learning skills because of personal, emotional, and self-esteem problems. He believes that this stop-and-go, self-paced process of teaching can help address that issue.

Explains Irby: “We synthesize an audiovisual presentation with print material of prepared notes. BestQuest’s primary goal is to support algebra educators with instructional systems for middle and high school students that engage students’ senses and arouse their interest, thereby promoting life-long learning.”

BestQuest 'scool brand services include courses of instruction and course materials for primary and secondary levels. This program is considered the leader in the creation and distribution of DVD based learning for middle and high school students. And they have a long list of awards to attest to that fact.

The teaching systems are designed to improve test scores, to reach all students, even those who are struggling. The program helps improve schools’ and students’ competitive edge and to teach students in a way that engages their senses and arouses their interest. “We want to impress upon students the importance of all subjects and open doors to advanced degrees and rewarding careers,” adds Irby.

“We are unapologetically low tech with our software,” admits Irby. ”The student are working their answers with pencil and paper and drawing their graphs and doing their math. The board work is done on DVD so the teachers spend more time with their students instead of being tethered to the chalkboard.”

As the demand for this groundbreaking new teaching system continues to grow, BestQuest plans to remain a step ahead by creating additional product lines to serve the needs of educators and enhance the intellect of today's students.

Joe Irby recently spent three days in Los Angeles’ school teaching children using his system, as teachers looked on. He recounts with pleasure an anecdote from that experience. “I happened to notice that one teacher who was required to be at the presentation did not want to be there. It was obvious she felt that here was another software program that was being pushed down her throat by the administration. At the end of the session she came over to me and said: ‘It’s about time people can see what a classroom is really like.’”

It was a nice compliment. But Irby gets a lot of those these days. “My biggest pleasure is when a teacher tells me that our system is helping them teach better and that their students are enjoying math and enjoying it more.”

Now that’s definitely the highest grade, and reward, one can achieve from working at the business of schooling.

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2006-05-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

InvestLinc Securities and The MidSouth Fund

Empowering the Entrepreneur

By Sara Pentz

When Lee Paris talks about Jackson-based InvestLinc Securites, he speaks matter-of-factly, as well as enthusiastically, about its assets. He is not necessarily speaking to the issue of money, investing, securities and profitability, however. He is addressing the philosophical position that asserts––by creating regionally based networks of successful businesspeople who invest in regional businesses with their financial capital, business skills and their personal connections–––the accumulated effect simultaneously stimulates investment growth for the business, the people and the regional community.

Paris is the architect of InvestLinc Securities a partner firm with Illinois-based InvestLinc Group, which in the late 1990s was a growing private equity firm in need of a securities business. InvestLinc Group's tagline, "opportunity through relationships" describes the company’s mission.

“The added payoff for InvestLinc partners,” explains Carey Wallace, manager of communications for InvestLinc Group, “is that they give back to their communities by helping up-and-coming entrepreneurs, not just with financial backing, but with the wisdom of their own experiences, and with the strength of their own connections. Businesses grow, communities grow, and InvestLinc partners see a good return on their own financial investments.”

“We bring together the brightest minds and the greatest resources into this capital poor part of the country––the Mid-South,” Paris explains. “We have this tremendous asset to bring the region that includes Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana. We will be moving into Georgia soon.”

Actually, this business premise was the brainchild of InvestLinc founder Troy Wiseman. A seasoned entrepreneur, he wanted to help the next generation of businesspeople achieve success. He was passionate about the deal-making process and wanted to keep a hand in business. With the financial capital he had created, he also wanted to make sound, worthy investments.

Wiseman knew he wasn’t the only successful entrepreneur in his situation. Through his own wide network of friends and contacts, he knew hundreds of successful businesspeople with the same desire to share the expertise they’d earned, and to see a good return from their financial capital. And, like a true businessman, Wiseman saw the opportunity to found a business that would serve them.

Wiseman knew from experience that the business world did not function on financial capital alone. He knew that business was generated on intellectual capital ("what you know") and social capital ("who you know"). He proposed that if a company could leverage not just financial capital, but the intellectual and social capital of a pool of hand picked, successful businesspeople––the potential for growth was enormous.

Instead of using MBA "book smarts" to vet deals, the InvestLinc network could turn to its own partners for "street smarts." He capitalized on the idea that invaluable business advice from men and women who had built successful businesses themselves and knew their regions and areas of expertise from the inside out would spawn excellence in future business deals. So he founded the company in the early 1990s.

Less than a decade later, Paris opened the Jackson office headquarters for InvestLinc Group’s Mid-South area. He saw an opportunity in the region, transmitted the vision for it throughout the national InvestLinc organization and made that vision into a reality.

With half a dozen years of success behind them, Paris and his IL partners Matt Thornton and Jack Harrington opened a new fund in the spring of 2005 called the Investing Mid-South Fund. The group had created separate equity funds, business funds and real estate funds for several years. This new fund is in its own early stages of development. “We try to make unique and profitable reinvestments,” explains Paris, “for those who put their trust in us by investing their money in real estate or a product that is a combination of real estate and business endeavors.”

Paris is gathering together 99 influential and successful business builders and seasoned executives to participate in this unique, locally based and highly participative private equity fund. They each contribute a minimum of $250,000 to help generate the Fund’s initial monies. Members receive regular cash flow distributions from the Fund’s investment in income-producing real estate, primarily or entirely through investment in affiliated real estate funds. The potential for returns from the Fund’s investments in a yet-to-be-formed affiliated Small Business Investment Company fund and direct investment in growth-oriented companies––are very attractive.

According to Paris, there are several unique components of the Mid-South Fund.

First, 60% of the funds are invested in real estate; 40% are invested in the business side of mezzanine financing. “It’s the combination of real estate and business investing that brings ready cash to the new businesses,” he adds. “Real estate investing is our security blanket that provides an immediate cash flow. The business side of this component gives us the advantage of some extraordinary returns. The unique characteristic about this method is that it is not a real estate deal or a business venture–––it’s both.”

The next component involves the unique association with others. “You are being placed in a deal with 98 other investors in your region that are wholly integrated in the business life of the region,” Paris says. “We all help find the best and most diverse deals from the perspective of ethnicity, success opportunity, business sectors, and other qualifiers. “We may hear about a lot of different deals, but we cherry pick for the best opportunities.”

Another unique characteristic about this Fund is that the company uses mezzanine financing to maximize the business investment. “That’s out sweet spot,” says Paris. With the use of mezzanine loans Paris and his partners receive shares of stock at a given price for a certain period of time and share in the future success of the business. Mezzanine lenders prefer borrowers with strong growth potential. “Mezzanine is that piece of the financing that makes or breaks the deal,” adds Paris.

The next Fund component is the glue of the company. Several times a year investors and regional partners come together for a ‘bonding’ that is exactly the purpose of the mission statement. “We roll out the Magnolia scented red carpet for them,” says this Southern gentleman. “They mix business and pleasure together. They learn about how the Fund is doing, are educated about upcoming deals, and build relationship with each other. We naturally get excited about their investments and build their relationship with each other, and they plot their own course and do their own deals. Who knows––some time in the future one of them may be involved with a start-up company that could easily link with another partner or investor in the group and create the appealing returns we hope to generate.”

InvestLinc Securities and the Mid-South Fund offer income opportunities with private investing and relationship building through personal expertise. As they say, “…while private equity historically outperforms public stocks…today’s market makes this investment class more attractive than ever…particularly in the area of local investments.” InvestLinc’s own success is based on empowering entrepreneurs to create the reality of their deal-making dreams.

InvestLinc Disclaimer: Information in this article is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Offerings are made only by the confidential Private Placement Memorandum which will contain complete information about the issuer and the offering. Until it is delivered, no money or consideration is being solicited, and, if sent will not be accepted.

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2006-04-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

An Interview with Writer David Magee

From Capitalists to Cookies

“Mother’s Not Frowning at Me Anymore.”

By Sara Pentz

Author David Magee’s writing is positively saturated with southern tradition. An award-winning newspaper columnist and non-fiction author who fancies writing about big businessmen, he is, as he puts it, “…unafraid to say the unspoken and use humor to illuminate the trickiest and stickiest issues facing those who live in and love today's south.” He calls his writings “contemplations.”

Magee was born and raised in Oxford, Mississippi, the home of William Faulkner and more than a dozen other accomplished and noted authors including, John Grisham Larry Brown, Barry Hannah and Tom Franlin.

In this interview for Mississippi Capitalist he reflects on how living in the south instilled him with the passion for writing––and what it was like to be around great writers and iconic businessmen. He recently moved to on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, with his wife and three children, “…too get a better perspective on life in Oxford.

Magee is also known for his non-fiction books about men of business; successful men who tell their story of building and rescuing companies. He is the author of Turnaround: How Carlos Ghosn Rescued Nissan, The John Deere Way: Performance That Endures, and Ford Tough: Bill Ford And The Battle To Rebuild America's Automaker, Endurance: Winning Lifes Majors the Phil Mickelson Way, Getting Published: How to Learn and Mast the Business of Writing. He speaks of these men and their impact on business in this interview with a kind of reverence––almost in the same way he discusses his passion for writing.

A former newspaper editor, columnist, freelance writer, business owner and small town politician (he became the youngest ever elected member of the city council in Oxford, Mississippi in 1996), Magee was named one of Mississippi’s top business leaders under the age of 40 in 1998. He decided on a leap of faith in 1999 to write full-time, a move he has never regretted, he says. He is currently a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Look for Magee’s blog at http://davidmagee.blogspot.com.

This summer those who enjoy David Magee’s humor and contemplations are in for a treat. He has written a new book about one of the South’s most beloved and interesting snack foods. Titled MoonPie: Biography of an Out-of-This-World Snack, the book is scheduled for release by Jefferson Press in the summer of 2006. It weaves the colorful story of the MoonPie with the history of the south. Working closely with MoonPie magnate Sam Campbell and company employees from multiple generations, Magee has been able to capture a can’t-put-down story around this beloved southern snack.

Sara Pentz: How would you describe yourself as a person?

David Magee: I’m a Southerner. I get that everywhere I go. Someone asked me one time––I’d done a book with the John Deere Company and I did a book with Carlos Ghosn, and with Bill Ford. People ask me, how did you do that? These people aren’t known to cooperate. I tell them that obviously you have to bring a measure of integrity to the table, I think. Above and beyond that, I think my Southern-ness and approachability is what mattered more than anything.

Sara Pentz: So it made it easier for you to interview business because you were able to get them to open up. Do you think that you set up a trust to they can feel assured by the nature of the questions asked that you’re not going to be mean to them?

David Magee: Absolutely. There’s no question about it. There’s approachability and a trust factor. I think people felt like – it’s ridiculous to think that a Southerner should be more trusted, but there is unquestionably approachability and a trust factor.

Sara Pentz: It’s because you all speak so slowly and Southerners project gentleness! How do you describe yourself as a writer? I’m talking about two separate things now. I want to know who you are as a writer.

David Magee: As a writer, I’m still developing and morphing. What’s interesting is that I started out writing about international subjects of importance. I felt like I had to because I thought it was the only way to do it. I’m kind of morphing over time into who I am as writer.

Sara Pentz: And who is that?

Who I am as a writer primarily is trying to take complicated subjects about people and business and help explain it in a simple way so that people understand it. At heart, I’m a people person. I’m fascinated by people and what they do to create change. In large part, my column and blog are people issues. Sometimes there are sensitive ones that I tackle and try to have a laugh about. Even big subjects like what’s wrong with how Carlos Ghosn and Nissan solved their problems.

I try to write it in a simple way that people can understand. I think that’s my whole objective. I’m trying to help people understand who they are and what they are. Often that comes back to my roots and fascination with my own existence.

Sara Pentz: Why did you choose to write about the business leaders and their companies?

David Magee: All of my subjects were chosen because there are iconic on larger scales. Carlos Ghosn, for instance, is recognized by those in the know as the world’s leading global business leader. In Bill Ford, you have a fascinating story in that he is the great grandson of Henry Ford trying to lead and turnaround this company, but he is also a bit of a contradiction. He is running a large automaker, but he is also a huge environmentalist with a big soft heart for the world.

John Deere speaks for itself in that the brand is recognized in the 21^st century as one of the most respected and strongest in the world and its current leader, Robert W. Lane, is the epitome of what we should want today’s leaders to stand for. He is a detailed, unafraid businessman…a real visionary. But, he is also one of the finest human beings you can meet…

As for Phil Mickelson, I think all of us relate so well to him because we are all struggling to win life’s majors and we never feel like we get due respect and we always believe we have the most talent…but it is still not easy. The lessons learned from his career are valuable to all of us.

Sara Pentz: How do you view those lessons?

Even if I’m writing a humorous column or a book about MoonPie, there are lessons to be learned. I like iconic subjects because we can all relate to them. Carlos Ghosn is a great business leader, but anybody can benefit from his lessons; and the same can be said for John Deere, etc.

Sara Pentz: Who did you find the most fascinating:

David Magee: I must add that without question Ghosn is the subject I am asked most about, perhaps because his is so mysterious, this globaliste who speaks five languages…born in Brazil, educated in France running a Japanese company. The thing I tell people is that the man in person easily lives up to and exceeds his reputation; he is dynamic, extremely smart and just a rare, one of a kind individual who has not only vision, but an ability to execute the most minute details. Also, he works hard at changing people, which is his greatest asset.

In some ways, he is bigger than life because in many areas of the world he is treated like a rock star, but he also has a real touch of humanity. He is a strong family man and he has also called me at home before, which is surprising to some but it did not seem strange at all because he does not operate under a set of limiting rules.

Sara Pentz: Who was your favorite?

David Magee: A favorite, without a doubt, is Bill Ford. I’m proud to call him a friend because if every company in the world had such a chairman and CEO it would be a better place. He is a strong business leader who is tougher than meets the eye. He’s just had to face the most difficult of challenges. The fact that the company is still standing and he’s still pushing hard for change says everything about Bill Ford. He would rather be spending time with his children, but he understands the importance of Ford Motor Company to his family, company employees and the world at large. Everyone needs this company to not only survive, but thrive.

Sara Pentz: I want to return why you selected those people to write those books about.

David Magee: Well, the Carlos Ghosn one goes right back to Mississippi. He’d come there to put that Nissan plant in Mississippi. Mississippi figured so prominently in the future. You talk about telling the untold story. I was so fascinated by the fact that this Japanese company being run largely by the French after Renault bought in.

Carlos Ghosn is a global business genius and he had a Japanese company being run by the French. He was a multicultural leader. They picked Mississippi of all places as the centerpiece of the company’s whole revival. That fascinated me to no end. I thought I had a better perspective on it than anybody else. I had a relationship with Carlos Ghosn and it was just a natural.

Sara Pentz: Give me the bottom line of what it was about him in this environment of Mississippi that turned that company around.

David Magee: I’ll tell you what it was. It’s the most intriguing quality of Carlos Ghosn. He believes that culture is additive. He doesn’t believe you have to go in and replace all of the people. He believes you can teach people new lessons. Culture is additive and people can change if you teach them how to teach themselves. He is all about changing people and getting them to see the world around them – to see their job differently.

That’s kind of my mission as a Southerner and what I write about. It’s helping people see the world around them differently. That’s what he did; he changed the minds of the people. He got them to think differently, and it was such a relative lesson to the South and what I see and say. That was the message of that story and what intrigued me about him.

Sara Pentz: Were there certain characteristics about him? I’m talking about his moral values, integrity, and so on. Were there certain ones that particularly intrigued you?

David Magee: His integrity in business terms is just off the charts. I always say that his enemies respect him deeply. They do. He’s difficult to punch holes in. The thing I like out him is that he has a “can’t fail” attitude. He’s not perfect, but he sets his mind on what he wants. He goes after it, and if they fail they use that lesson to keep after it. Here’s what they’re going to do, and that’s all there is to it. I try to adopt some of the same qualities, but it doesn’t always work.

Sara Pentz: Is it really true that it’s that “can’t fail” attitude that really makes or breaks a person?

David Magee: I don’t think there is any question about it.

Sara Pentz: It doesn’t matter where you come from, who your parents are?

David Magee: It doesn’t matter. It’s a mindset. There are factors. You have to have talent and you have to go after what your goal is in the right area. You can’t just shoot from the hip and go in any direction. But if you’re making an educated decision about what direction you’re going in, and you do have some talent, then the final piece is typically a matter of mindset.

Sara Pentz: And that’s what makes these other men so intriguing to you?

David Magee: Oh, no question. They were very strong. All of them were strong brands, but also very strong personalities. They had the most lessons to learn.

Sara Pentz: And how successful were those books?

David Magee: The Carlos Ghosn Nissan book sold more than 100,000 copies in 8 languages now. Yeah, it did well. The others have done well – not that well, but they’ve done well. They were in the 25,000- to 50,000-copy range.

Sara Pentz: I’m really interested in is your take on––what is a capitalist?

David Magee: To me, being a capitalist is seizing opportunity. It’s getting a lot harder to seize opportunity. That’s my whole problem. It’s getting increasingly harder to seize opportunity. It’s the old thing where the people who have it are finding more, and those that can’t are having increasing difficulty. Supposedly, we have more programs in this country for people to have it. I’m not seeing many of them being able to take advantage of it. We’re just continually making it more difficult and more difficult. It goes back to that seat belt thing.

Sara Pentz: Are you talking about the fact that the government is interfering with our lives?

David Magee: Yeah, I just feel like it’s getting more difficult. The business environment is getting so difficult in this country. Most people I hear from – from physicians to big business and college graduates who like to start a business – it’s almost an insurmountable mountain. That’s a hot button with me. I don’t have any answers, but it’s getting so increasingly difficult. We got programs to help people go to school, but the cost of education is soaring beyond control. So people get out of school with so much debt in school loans that they couldn’t conceive of starting a business. We’ve got a runaway train in cost and regulations that are making it difficult.

Sara Pentz: Why did you write about the golfer Phil Michelson?

David Magee: I wanted to branch out. I never meant to just write business books. That was a step in the direction of not doing business books. That’s what you’re seeing now. The Moon Pie book may be about a brand and a company, but it’s a people book, and so was this Southern issue kind of humor book. I needed to take a step away. I had an editor who wanted me to do the book. I’d just done the Ford Motor Company book, and Ford is Mickelson’s sponsor. It just seemed like a natural.

Sara Pentz: Okay. Let’s switch to you because you have known some pretty famous people in the literary world, too. What was it like growing up as a little boy in Oxford, Mississippi?

David Magee: It’s where the University of Mississippi is, of course. It’s fascinating; I grew up and played in the woods that went with William Faulkner’s house. My best friend down the street was a member of the Faulkner family. I had friends who were older people, like Richard Howorth, who started a bookstore and became the president of the American Booksellers Association years later. I had friends like Larry Brown and John Grisham who became writers.

Starting in about 1980, when Willie Morris moved to town, I got to know him. It was interesting because Oxford was kind of this utopian small town, but all around me were books and writing and I never had any idea. I look back later and it made writing seem attainable.

Sara Pentz: It’s really another world because very seldom do you find that many people who are writing and successful in one small area.

David Magee: No doubt. When I was growing up, Oxford had less than 10,000 residents. That’s pretty shocking when you think about who all I was able to observe and learn from. The mayor of the city now, Richard Howorth That atmosphere had everything to do with what I do now.

Sara Pentz: Describe what it is was like in Oxford, Mississippi, as a little boy. What was the environment like?

David Magee: Well, at the time, the University was not nearly as hip and vibrant as it is now. It was more reflective of the community: nice, a tad bit sleepy, which were great qualities to grow up in. My dad was a faculty member at the University – a professor. I grew up on University Avenue, so I had these dual worlds even as a child, which came together. The University was on my left hand, and the town square was on my right hand. My friends and I used them both fully as playgrounds.

It was a unique environment. I’m not sure that exists out there anymore – to have that University setting, but Oxford was such a small, sleepy town – and I said that endearingly. We would walk around with our basketballs and baseball bats in summertime and play on all the campus facilities. We’d go out and play on the Ole Miss football field. We’d get into the coliseum and play basketball in the same arena as the Rebels played on. You don’t get to do those kinds of things anymore. We’d go to the square and eat Moon Pies and sit around drinking Cokes. It was a very typical Southern small town existence, with the benefit of a state university and its environment and facilities connected – which was rare.

Sara Pentz: Do you remember what your earliest ambitions were when you were a little boy?

David Magee: As a little boy, I told my mother that I wanted to be a writer. I remember telling her that I was going to write a book one day. To be honest, I was not the greatest student and I remember she gave me a frown of a look. I don’t think she had any idea that would ever occur.

Sara Pentz: How did you come up with the idea that you wanted to be a writer? How did you know?

David Magee: I went to the University of Mississippi. I said I would never go to the school in my backyard, but it was hard when it came time to go. I loved Ole Miss. It was hard to leave, and I couldn’t. I went to the University. A man named Will Norton, who is Chairman of the Journalism Department, was an incredible mentor. I fell right in there. He said that I could do it (write) if I wanted.

It was great encouragement and great advice, so I became a writer. I got into newspapers and I was okay at it, particularly writing a column. I was not as good as an editor, but I felt like I had to be an editor to make more money. Finally with kids and whatnot, I was just starving in the newspaper industry. My calling was really to be a columnist and just to write. It just didn’t fit very well with a growing family.

I left in the early 1990s, got out of it, and just got into private business. Interestingly, I missed the interaction of community newspapers so bad that I got involved in the city council. I did a couple of terms on the Oxford City Council.

Sara Pentz: Yes, I hear you are a small-town politician.

David Magee: Well, I was. It’s past tense. I was elected to a couple of terms beginning in my late 20s. I did that because I missed that thing you get as a journalist where, even if you’re playing it straight up, you are still helping to shape and mold communities. I just couldn’t get away from it so I did that.

Sara Pentz: What do you think that small Southern town environment actually instilled in you from a writing perspective?

David Magee: I think the biggest thing was that the environment in Oxford made writing achievable. Publishing and writing - being an author - is next to impossible or is certainly viewed as such. I didn’t really know better. It almost seemed like someone was a butcher, a baker, or a writer.

Sara Pentz: Tell me about Willie Morris who wrote North Toward Home, My Dog Skip and many others.

avid Magee: I met him in 1980. Of course, he was still drinking extremely heavily then. I met him down at Dean Faulkner Wells’ house because her son was one of my good friends. When I first saw Willie, he was having a few drinks and playing Trivial Pursuit. The game had just come out. He was playing Trivial Pursuit and he was unbelievably good because he was a genius. Even under the spell of alcohol, he could pop these answers out one after another. He was a walking encyclopedia.

Sara Pentz: When you were friends with these people, were they writing at the time or were they just your pals?

David Magee: No, I knew some of them before they were writing. Willie Morris was always writing on something, but at that stage of his career, it wasn’t going very fast. People like Grisham, I certainly knew him when we still lived in Oxford. He was writing in the middle of it, and I learned some interesting lessons from him.

Sara Pentz: Like what?

David Magee: Things about how to find your own niche. He said, don’t try to be me; be your own man. That’s when people start writing and think they’re going to become the next John Grisham. That was a great lesson he taught me – be my own man. Find your own niche. That was a key lesson for me. I also watched him have a lot of focus and diligence.

When he started up he was not a writer, but once he found success he was doing a book a year. He still does; he’s actually done more than that at times. It may have been easier later in his career, but early on he had an extreme amount of discipline. I watched people pull on him from every direction, even in that small town. It taught me that the only way to write a book and meet a deadline is to sit in a chair and get it done. Find your own niche, sit in your chair and get it done. Those were very valuable lessons from John Grisham.

Sara Pentz: I want to get back to when you said to your Mom and she didn’t believe you...

David Magee: It was more of a troubled look.

Sara Pentz: Like you’re never going to make a living as a writer.

David Magee: I think it was more a troubled look of, 'I’m afraid your ambitions are set too high.' I don’t think she thought I could.

Sara Pentz: I see. But what did you know about yourself that made it possible for you to say that? And how old were you when you said you wanted to be a writer?

David Magee: I was 12, and I knew that I liked the idea of doing something unusual. I liked the idea of helping people understand things. I liked the idea of trying to find out what made people, places, or things different. I was always fascinated by how the weather changed, or in changes at the University. I was always asking a hundred questions about the things around me and trying to learn about them.

I remember as a kid being so fascinated by the weather because no one could really explain to me why it changed so unexpectedly sometimes. It was just my nature to try to learn and explain. Even as youngster, I spent a lot of time trying to explain the weather to people. I still do that, in fact.

Sara Pentz: Did you know that you had a talent? Did the process of writing come easily to you?

David Magee: Yeah. You know, it really did. There’s been a big learning curve. I write so much better now than I did a year ago, and so much better than I did three years ago. It’s pretty amazing. It’s a continual improvement. It was something that came easy to me, which now seems like a pretty raw form.

Sara Pentz: Tell me a little bit about your family – mother, father, siblings.

David Magee: Well, I had a mother, father, and one sister growing up in Oxford. It’s an interesting story; it’s not one I’ve written about, but I was adopted. The interesting story is the whole thing about how I got dropped into Oxford. I came in as one person, got adopted, and I was dropped into this community. I was so intrigued by the writers and writing that it finally rubbed off on me. Isn’t that weird?

Sara Pentz: You have very fond feelings about your family? They must have been very supportive of you.

David Magee: Oh absolutely, and they still are. My parents still live in Oxford. My Dad is retired from the University. My mother is retired from the University and they still live on University Avenue. It’s a house that everybody passes who comes into town for ball games at Ole Miss. The support has been incredible. My mother is not frowning at me anymore, I’ll tell you that. She’s pretty clear that I can do this.

Sara Pentz: What about your first love?

David Magee: Oh, wow. I have a hard time putting my finger on that one. Truly, I can tell you my wife was. I met her on my second day at Ole Miss. I had girlfriends before that, but they were just kind of disposable.

Sara Pentz: That’s really fortunate. And you’ve been married for how long?

David Magee: It is 19 years this January.

Sara Pentz: It’s a good thing you remembered that.

David Magee: Mm-hmm. We met on the second day of school, but she didn’t date me right away. It took her about two years to start going out with me.

Sara Pentz: How many children do you have? And what are their ages?

David Magee: William is the 16-year-old, Hudson is the 14-year-old son, and Mary Halley is 12.

Sara Pentz: What is it about Ole Miss that makes everybody so reverent and down on their knees about this place?

David Magee: I don’t know. It’s funny because I’m a lifelong Mississippian, except for the three years I moved here to the Chattanooga area, in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. I moved by choice. To be honest, I’m still Mississippian and I follow impeccably close to what goes on there. I am a Mississippian; I lived in Mississippi for 37 years of my life.

But the reason I moved is exactly because of that reverence. It’s not that it was a turn-off, but it’s just because I felt it was important to have some time in life a little bit removed. I fell under that as well, and it was a good thing, but I felt like it was important for me to truly appreciate and understand Mississippi.

Some people have gone north to do it. I’m a Southerner; it didn’t make much sense to get too far north, but I did get away to an environment that is somewhat removed. I really did it because I wanted to have a more objective perspective. I think that comes from old, generational Southern tradition of deep pride and defense of who you are and what you believe in.

People are convinced that when you’re standing in the grove at the University of Mississippi that you’re in the center of the universe. There is a prideful feeling that most get from that. It’s an intense defense and love of people, place, and time. I had the same thing. I had it my whole life. I woke up one day and thought that I at least need to get somewhere where I can focus from a distance on the state of Mississippi, the University, Oxford, and my whole existence there, to better understand it.

To keep writing about the South in general and I always come back to Mississippi. I’m a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. I looked back and I was embarrassed the other day. Chattanooga is a very vibrant community and I’m embarrassed at how many times references to Mississippi have come up in my columns. I never get away from that.

Sara Pentz: But your readers understand that?

David Magee: I think so. I’m sure they understand it. The feedback says they understand it. It’s who I am.

Sara Pentz: Describe the objectivity you got when you moved away from Oxford to Tennessee?

David Magee: Well, I’m still getting it. It might be premature. It’s only been three years. For starters, I think what I’m beginning to realize is that there is an amazing group of very talented people throughout the state of Mississippi. When you take into consideration the population and education level, it really shouldn’t be so. But compared to other states with similar populations and demographics – here comes that pride thing again – we’re off the chart. There is such an incredible group of people who have believed they can succeed at a national level and that have made a difference on a national level. They think big and act big, and believe their voice, art, or opinion matters.

When I decided to be a writer full-time, I made myself a note on a piece of paper: I will be a nationally successfully author. It was instilled in me that if I was going to write, I wasn’t just going to write; I was going to write at the top level possible. That goes back to that thing where people believe they can contribute at that level and do. It’s really unreasonable for a state that size. That’s one of the things I’ve learned.

Looking back at it, Mississippi is backwards in so many ways. That’s completely true, but it’s outrageously progressive in many ways.

Sara Pentz: Give me an example of backwards.

David Magee: Well, the state is still––there are regions where poverty is still so extreme. Oxford is a great example because it’s a contradiction of the state. Here is this hamlet of a town that is not representative of the statewide demographics. And yet, it is kind of the center of the power source. Everybody from Jackson and a lot of people from the coast gather, celebrate, rejoice, and make decisions. It’s a contradiction in many ways to the rest of the state. The state is still hurting in so many ways of disproportionate income and education levels. Many people are progressing farther and faster than they ever imagined in that state, but there are also many people who aren’t off square one.

Sara Pentz: Give me an example of the flip side of that.

David Magee: The flip side is that you have a level of affluence, and I don’t necessarily mean economically. It kind of gets back to affluence in thought process and believing they can achieve. It’s affluence in friends in the right places. People in Mississippi are more well connected than maybe any state in the country. That’s both ends of the spectrum there.

Sara Pentz: I just finished reading again your blog. I’m thinking how utterly charming, and of course one chuckles, laughs, and smiles. At the same time, you make a very important point in each of your stories.

David Magee: Well, I appreciate that. That’s my style; that’s what I do. I’ve got a book of Southern humor coming out, and my wife says that’s such a lame word. How can you even call that humorous? But it’s light on serious subjects that I come back to. It’s that kind of stuff. I like to have a little chuckle over it because we need to. I still tend to be issues-based, no matter what it is. It’s all kind of introspective in ways that we all relate to.

Sara Pentz: How would you describe the issues that are most important to you?

David Magee: By far, the issues I care most about are issues of the contemporary South. It’s this whole new, new South thing. We’ve changed so fast and drastically that, at times, some of us are getting a little full of ourselves. We’ve still got some major challenges.

I’m real intrigued by this new, new South thing. There is this hipness and feeling of energy and achievement, but yet we’ve got some major issues – from obesity to poor public education.

The seatbelt thing is a case in point. This study comes out that people are increasingly buckling up in America, but guess where we still aren’t buckling up? It’s right down in the heart of Dixie. I’m right there as one of them. I’ve been battling that myself because I’ve probably got too much redneck imbedded in me to totally erase. That’s why Britney Spears was riding around with the baby in the front seat of her car not too long ago. She grew up on the Mississippi border in a small town in Louisiana. She can’t shake that.

Sara Pentz: So it’s really all about independence?

David Magee: Yeah, absolutely. It’s a battle to hold onto that independence. I’ve kind of laughed at that Southern shtick of people talking about hanging onto to these traditions. Innocently, with the seatbelt thing, I’ve found myself doing it.

Sara Pentz: That’s kind of what I’m getting at. It’s like, don’t let the government move into my life. I’m a Southerner; I have this. How would you describe that? Are you political?

David Magee: Well, you know what’s funny? Increasingly, I’m not. This fits very oddly with Mississippi because most Mississippians are so strongly so. I used to be. I find myself becoming more non-political the older I get. I’ve kind of taken on the yoke I’m wearing as I’ve neared my 40^th birthday. All the writing that I do is non-political and aimed at people. It is aimed at all walks of life and all people to help them understand who they are and what their time and place is. That’s a conscious decision I’ve made.

I’m going to take the peoples’ party. That sounds so hokey and people will make arguments that I can’t do that. I’m trying to help people understand who they are so they can go cast their strong party vote. That’s all I can tell you.

Sara Pentz: You were an advertising executive?

David Magee: Yes,with the Godwin Group. They’re a real powerhouse of an agency. I was largely involved in the community branding type aspects. I’m real fascinated by community branding. I was also in a sales type of role because I like people. I still do some freelancing. I was helping an agency out of Atlanta not too many months ago. A pretty large public American corporation was re-branding. I went in there and helped them with some scheming on re-branding. That gets into that people thing; trying to put your finger on what somebody is, or what a company is.

My experience at Godwin was instrumental in helping to understand how to work with these big corporations like Ford, Nissan, and John Deere. That is critical. Godwin is based out of Jackson. It’s a very significant player throughout the region and even nationally. I had some great mentors there in Philip Shirley and Danny Mitchell, who are still running the company.

One of the things I learned was the secret to navigating corporations. It’s hard to take a large corporation like John Deere and do a book project that everybody is supporting. It’s not easy. Typically, they say no. Some of those lessons I learned along the way were just invaluable to me.

Sara Pentz: You have a passion for untold stories.

David Magee: Yeah, that is my deal. I like to go in and find this unique thing. I’m just finishing a book right now. It’s about the Moon Pie.

Sara Pentz: Oh yes, tell me.

David Magee: I did this as kind of a – at first I was doing it for fun. It turned out that it’s probably going to be one of my bigger books. There has been so much preordering, and the chains are all on it. Everybody is excited about it. I never saw that coming. I just thought it would be interesting and fascinating. The reason it interested me is because the Moon Pie is a symbol of second or third generations of the South. It’s a comfort food that people relate to and have memories of.

Everybody has a story about Moon Pies in the South. I remember having them with my grandfather and with my friends. I’ve had Moon Pies with my kids. I took this thing and instead of writing some stale history of it starting in 1917, I wrote it in a first-person approach. I wrote it as a biography of the snack. That’s the subtitle: Biography of an Out-of-This-World Snack. I just thought that was the most outrageous thing.

I ran into a guy who writes street lit. I ran into him in Washington. He walked up to me, saw the Moon Pie cover I had with me, and he said, “So you wrote a book about a cookie? That’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever heard of.” I said, “You get this?” He said, “Oh yeah, I get it.” That’s the whole thing. The whole concept of writing a book about a cookie is outrageous.

The Moon Pie is a very Southern snack. It’s a traditional thing. It’s a marshmallow sandwich, four inches in diameter. It is cookies sandwiched around marshmallow, coated in chocolate, vanilla, or banana flavoring. It’s a round snack; it’s a Moon Pie.

Sara Pentz: Alright, then what does Moon Pie really mean?

David Magee: Well, it’s this, um...it is representative of who I am today as a 21^st Century Southerner. Because it has made memories for Southerners back through my grandparents, those parlayed to my parents and then to me. I’m a conglomeration of those two generations of memories, and the Moon Pie is that one signifying thing. If you got to put your finger on the memories that have passed from one generation to the other in the South, it’s the one thing I can pull out and go, ah, this signifies it right here.

Sara Pentz: How did it ever get its name?

David Magee: It goes back to the Chattanooga Bakery, which makes the Moon Pie. They were looking for a new product. A salesman up in the Appalachian mining country in 1917 asked one of the miners. The miner told him that they didn’t want any of his products because they were ginger snaps and other run-of-the-mill stuff. They could get those anywhere. “Well, what do you want?” the salesman asked. The guy stood up and said, “We want something this big. We want it to be filling and affordable.” He held his hands up in the shape of a moon.

This salesman went back and came up with this idea. Workers at the bakery were taking graham crackers and making their snack, dipping them down into marshmallow and putting it in the window to dry. They came up with the idea of making a big round snack, taking that concoction and pouring chocolate over it.

Sara Pentz: It’s a wonderful story.

David Magee: You ought to read the book. I write the thing and I can’t even believe it. It’s so amazing, you know. Do you know how many Moon Pies they’ve sold since then? Like $4 billion! McDonald’s has nothing on the Moon Pies.

Sara Pentz: Before we move onto a few other things about your writing, what is your sense of humor? How do you describe it? There is definitely a strong voice.

David Magee: It’s interesting that you’re writing this because, to be honest, it’s funny. Since I’ve left Mississippi – I had to leave to get that. The general Southern reading public is really going to see that part of me, beginning with this Moon Pie book on through that Southern humor book. That’s really the David Magee of the 21^st Century that people are going to come to know. I think it’s a soft kind of understated edginess. I got a pretty sarcastic view of this place that I love incredibly; but it’s a pretty hard, sarcastic view. I deliver it in this soft, unassuming Southern humility way that allows me to get away with it.

I’ve tackled issues; I tackled this crystal meth thing, which I think might be on my blog. I tackled the whole issue in a column in the Times Free Press. It was probably the most significant feedback I’ve ever gotten on a column, and I was hard on Southern women about the problem we have with the underemployed and underappreciated women who are increasingly turning to crystal meth. They’re just killing and destroying a whole generation of their children because they’re not properly caring for them. It is serious stuff and I really took issue with it.

I did it with an edgy humor all throughout. People were torn. There is evidence that these women who get into these problems – there is evidence that they literally eat their scabs to get drug residue from them. I made fun of that. It made some people almost sick to their stomachs. They were torn between laughing and crying. How can you take this deeply serious issue and make a joke? I had one woman email me and ask me, how can you make a joke about that? I had a lot of people email and say, that was the funniest thing they’d ever read.

The ultimate aim was to make people sit and say, damn, we’ve got a problem. My humor is soft and understated, but it’s pretty edgy. I deliver it with an “aw shucks” humility and I try to be humble. It is pretty biting underneath.

Sara Pentz: Do you have literary heroes, and if so, who are they?

David Magee: The funniest thing is that I have two, and they’re both from Oxford: John Grisham and Larry Brown. John Grisham maybe doesn’t get the acclaim he deserves; he just gets the royalty checks.

Sara Pentz: That’s not bad.

David Magee: That’s right. He gets the royalty checks, but not the acclaim he deserves. I can tell you that it takes far more talent to write books that millions of people want to read. Sometimes you can do something a little more artsy with less time and effort. It gets back to what you were saying. People underestimate how much talent John Grisham has and what he can write if wants to. It’s much more difficult to come up with a style that millions of people keep going back to.

Larry Brown is a person who did the critical acclaim. He’s deceased now. But he never quite got the success he deserved. Because I’ve know him most of my life in Oxford – he was a fireman and we maintained a relationship. He taught me that he worked exceptionally hard to become a writer. There was never anything easy about it. He wrote page after page, burned some of them and threw them away. He worked like a madman to find that success. So it was both of those.

Sara Pentz: In a way, do you feel that your writing comes easier than what you’re describing about John Grisham and Larry Brown?

David Magee: Yeah, it comes pretty easy because of the subjects I’ve done. It’s easy when I just go research and put stuff together, but now that I’m moving more into a creative bent, it’s much harder.

Sara Pentz: How do you describe good literature? What is it?

David Magee: I think it comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. It’s defined as what people want to read. It’s good if somebody wants to read it. You can find good literature on a blog. Ninety-nine percent of blogs have bad literature on them. It’s trash, because they can’t write well and they just want to spout off. But I’ve found some blogs that I’d call good literature. If people really warm to it and like it, it’s good. That is absolutely how to define it. It comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. I think that people get awful snotty about it in the industry. Good writing is not something that didn’t sell well that some noted person called good. If it’s written in a way that moves and shakes people, I call that good.

Sara Pentz: How do you come up with the subjects for your columns?

David Magee: It’s just whatever the spirit moves me to do. I try to stay abreast of the issues, and whatever moves me. The seatbelt one was one. Someone in Georgia was trying to usher in a seatbelt law. It’s all out there.

Sara Pentz: I’m going to quote something. “David Magee is unafraid to say the unspoken and he uses humor to illuminate the trickiest and stickiest issues facing us who live in and love today’s South.” How do you feel about that comment, and why are you unafraid?

David Magee: I’ll tell you why I’m unafraid. There are two reasons. I used to be afraid. Then, in my early 20s, I became a news editor of a community newspaper. That will harden your skin in a hurry. Then I did a couple of terms on the Oxford City Council. By the time you’ve been the news editor of a community newspaper and sat on a city council, you get over it real quick. Your skin, by then, is thick.

I emerged from a young person who was fairly sensitive to someone, from a public stance; it doesn’t much bother me. They can say whatever they want. I pretty much write what I want now and send it. I don’t even look back. I wouldn’t have used to do that, but I’m older and wiser. I’m just not real sensitive about what people say about me. I can truly say that with all honesty.

I had a review a couple years ago; it was a half-page story in the New York Times about one my books. It ripped me up one side and down the other. It just destroyed me. It was a half-page in the business section of the Sunday New York Times. It was the biggest book review I’ve ever received and it was awful. You get a few of those kinds of things and you realize – if I can sit there and look at my name getting butchered in the New York Times, people can say whatever they want.

Sara Pentz: And don’t you find that you get to be a better writer?

David Magee: Oh, way better. I took a quantum leap when I finally said that I don’t really care. I’m just going to write it and whatever.

Sara Pentz: And the deeper you get into the heart or soul of what you are, the better the writing.

David Magee: No doubt. It just gets better and better. It’s because I’m just now really hitting the nerve of what I’m supposed to be doing. I have said that I’m going to go after this and it is the level of success I’m going to have. I’ve had some success, but I feel like such a failure because I feel I’ve got so many miles to go. I’m trying to stream some stories together and trying to get them done as fast as I can to try and make a dent. I can’t go fast enough. I haven’t ever really gotten to the point...in 5 years, I might finally be at the point where I can turn around and say it’s been a pretty good ride. I will have achieved some of what I wanted.

I’m just scratching the surface. I’ve been in a whirlwind for a few years and haven’t even taken a breath to analyze that there’s been any good out of it.

Sara Pentz: Okay, last question. Will the South rise up again?

David Magee: Well, it is. It’s in the midst of doing so. That’s what is so beautiful about it. The South is completely rising up. If you look at it, it is really becoming a center of movement and intelligence and politics in the 21^st Century. The South is completely rising again. My issue and problem that I take from it is that we’re taking a bunch of steps forward, but we’re leaving some steps way back there behind. This contemporary South is really something that is on the move, it’s an exciting place to be, and it feels right, but we’ve got a lot of problems. A lot of them are related to the same baggage we had a century before.

Whites and blacks still don’t go to church together. I’m not saying they should; I’m just saying that it’s an illustration that we really haven’t made much racial progress at all. I don’t care what anybody says. That’s just the biggest farce; that’s just people wanting to feel good about themselves. We’ve still got rural poverty and now obesity is creeping in.

I wrote a column about this poor-right-white-trash movement in the South becoming beggars. We’re seeing this all over the place because economically, they are just so behind. We’ve got a whole culture of lower-middle class beggars coming along. Because there aren’t jobs on the farm anymore and there isn’t much opportunity. The 21^st Century South is light years ahead and is completely on the move, but I like to stop and look at some of our issues and problems. You can go find Gucci loafers for sale in Jackson, Mississippi now, and you can find some trendy restaurants. But there are still some backwards elements to our culture that we’ve got to overcome.

Sara Pentz: Someone I was interviewing recently said the South has never really gotten over the War.

David Magee: I think that’s true. There are still hurt feelings that run deep. Down in Trenton, Georgia, they approved a few months ago the Confederate battle flag to fly over city hall. The citizens voted for it. What the hell are people thinking? I have no idea.

Sara Pentz: David, I know that I don’t have to wish you good luck. It’s going to be such a ride with your new book. Thank you for taking a time out from writing to talk to the Mississippi Capitalist.

2006-03-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

U.S. NetworX: Internet Services

Arose From the Bubble Rubble
Against All Odds

By Sara Pentz

Most people have a reverberating image of that terrible morning on September 11, 2001, when those two magnificent towers collapsed into rubble on the floor of the earth in New York City. For almost thirty years they had been a symbol of man’s capacity to rise from primitive life to create a civilization where just about anything was possible.

Several years leading up to this awful event, the dot.com Internet sector was beginning its own fall and the Bubble finally burst in 2001.

That same year––against all odds––David Crawford, a CPA turned Internet businessman, could see the future through the dust and wreckage of those historic events. Today, the company he created with his small team of associates, U.S. NetworX, is an outgrowth of his resilience to fight through those difficult times to secure his vision of the future for Internet services and web-based business.

U.S. NetworX is a national provider of e-business services including website and database development, hosting, search engine placement, dedicated servers, and networking, as well as nationwide dialup and ISDN Internet access.

The company started with five employees, a zero client base and became profitable within its second year of business. U.S. NetworX now has clients in 40 states and 12 foreign countries, with 14 employees headquartered in Jackson and a branch office in Oxford. It closed its seventh acquisition a year ago. Talk about against the odds.

Before establishing the company Crawford began his career as a CPA specializing in the oil and gas industry. Once the Internet boom came into play he knew he had to be a part of it. Through research and strategic planning, he began his introduction to the world of the Internet by creating Ayrix Technologies in l997 which went on to become the largest ISP in Mississippi. After several years of success, Ayrix Technologies was sold to Michigan-based BigNet, later renamed BigNet South. With Crawford providing most of the preliminary funding the original Ayrix team next organized U.S. NetworX. It was a bold move at a time when pessimism dominated.

There was another goal CEO Crawford wanted to achieve for this new venture. Like many Mississippi companies, he believes that his state can rise up from a sagging economy that has weighed on the south for more than a century and a half. He consulted with several company executives to discuss innovative concepts for a successful web design firm and those innovations became the foundation of U.S. NetworX.

Crawford built the company based on the premise that thriving businesses depend upon their computer networks to remain productive. He believes: “They need knowledgeable and experienced network support behind them. U.S. NetworX would provide network administration and services to local Mississippi businesses to help organizations achieve their potential with scaleable network design and reliable network maintenance.

“I think one of the most special things that we do,” explains Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Meg Martin, spokesperson for the company, “is to help businesses and organizations in Mississippi grow. Although we have many clients in other states and countries, our hearts belong to Mississippi. All of our employees are from Mississippi. We want to help bring more business and industry to our state, and we have been working with cities, counties, chambers, and economic development organizations to help them showcase their value to the world.”

“Startup was scary, but exciting,” adds Martin. “We started this company when many web service companies were going out of business…and selling out to bigger firms.” But David Crawford managed the finances, kept the crew focused, and steered them in the right direction. “The people who actually understood what we were doing at the time probably thought we were crazy because of the situation,” she says. “There we were starting a web services business from scratch while thousands of other businesses in our industry were filing bankruptcy.”

Martin sees the big picture when talking about the company: “Our philosophy from the very beginning has been to live by the golden rule. We put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and think about how we would want to be treated if we were them. We work very closely with our clients to make sure the end product meets and exceeds their needs and expectations. That is why we offer a money back guarantee on our work. And, to my knowledge, no client has ever asked for their money back.”

Doubtful anyone will with the kind of strong self-pride reflected inside this company. “We like to think that all of our jobs (for our clients) are a success. Our main objective is to help businesses and organizations spread their message via the web. We firmly believe in what we are doing, and we are very good at it.”

Apparently, others agree because clients like Mississippi Restaurant Association, Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra, Bovard Real Estate and Mississippi Propane Gas Association speak particularly to the issue of the personal touch U.S. NetworX brings to the relationship. Here is some of what they say:

"Your follow up and attention to detail is thorough and professional.""I really do appreciate the way everyone treats us, whether it’s when we come for
a visit, on the phone or email. We know that you are all working in our BEST interest.”

"You have a way of making 'Computer Dummies' like me feel confident
of myself and also know that you are right there ready to help."

Last year the company received two awards: 2005 Who’s Who In Mississippi Business CEO Small Business of the Year – David Crawford and 2005 Emerging Companies Finalist (Salute to Business & Industry Awards).

At a time when there are people who would like to topple everything from the United States itself to small Internet companies, U.S. NetworX is security-minded with a state-of-the-art data center and an intrusion detection system that monitors the company’s network 24 hours a day. The company also has an enterprise-class spam and virus-filtering gateway to protect clients.

When all about them seemed to be crashing down in 2001, David Crawford and his team at U.S. NetworX have demonstrated that toughing it out––against the odds––in the Internet business with a devotion to the State of Mississippi can be about as profitable as it can be rewarding.

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2006-02-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

Robert Wilkinson, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, Pascagoula, MS

A Lawyer Who Defends Business, Dislikes Class Actions, and Doesn’t Settle

By Sara Pentz

Robert Wilkinson is an unusual lawyer because as he openly states, “I am adamantly opposed to class actions.” About his Mississippi-based law firm, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, he affirms this basic premise, “Our job is to protect businesses and corporations that are being unfairly accused in various lawsuits. I am most proud of what we have accomplished for one of our clients that is involved in the asbestos litigation.”

Founded in l995, Dogan & Wilkinson, PLLC, primarily focuses on mass tort litigation and municipal liability issues. In the mass tort department, the firm represents three defendants nationally in asbestos litigation. They are currently actively involved in litigation in 26 states handling in excess of 100,000 cases.

The law firm has participated in more asbestos trials than any other defense firm in this country. Because of the quality of the products that his client sold and the tremendous abilities of the other attorneys and staff in his office, he has not ever lost an asbestos trial.

Practically, and philosophically, Wilkinson believes that the majority of the clients that the firm represents know they did nothing wrong––and they will not settle out of court until their name has been cleared and the truth is told. He fights to clear his clients of false accusations. He fights for the integrity of his clients. For Robert Wilkinson, there is nothing more gratifying than to tell a client, after investigating the case, that they are not liable and then proving that through the course of the litigation.

Wilkinson reflects a strong sense of pride and confidence in his work protecting business against frivolous legal action by unethical lawyers and citizens who have no valid claim. He has successfully defended and gone to trial on behalf of clients in the States of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas (approximately 40 times), California, Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

It is also clear that Wilkinson is opposed to the use of force, which the government has made possible by legitimizing class action lawsuits. He is quite clear on this subject because he has seen how this issue has corrupted the legal profession.

Class members often receive little or no benefit from class actions. Examples cited for this include large fees for the attorneys, while leaving class members with coupons or other awards of little or no value; unjustified awards are made to certain plaintiffs at the expense of other class members; and confusing notices are published that prevent class members from being able to fully understand and effectively exercise their rights.

Wilkinson is most proud of his law firm not only for the work that firm lawyers do, but because of the clients they represent. In addition he is exceptionally pleased by the way that firm members rebounded from having the office totally destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Dogan & Wilkinson currently has twelve attorneys in Pascagoula with additional offices in Jackson, Mississippi, New Orleans, Louisiana and Houston, Texas. All the litigation is handled and run through the Pascagoula, Mississippi office with a staff of approximately fifty employees.

The history of this law firm dates back to 1994 when Wilkinson decided to withdraw as a partner in another law firm in Pascagoula and start his own. At that time that there was only Wilkinson and three employees (one secretary, one bookkeeper and one paralegal). In 1995, Larry Smith joined as a partner and since that time the firm has grown to its current position with a national reputation.

Considering Pascagoula is a very small town (approximate population 30,000), it is unusual, to say the least, for a firm in this small town to be operating nationally.

Writer Sara Pentz interviewed Wilkinson recently.

==============================================================

SP: Why did you choose to be in the legal profession? What was it about law that intrigued you?

RW: I do not know exactly why I decided to join the legal profession but can tell you that I never had any thoughts of doing anything other than being a lawyer. My mother tells me that since age eight I had told her that I was going to be a lawyer but I, of course, do not have any memory of that.

SP: However, you built a rather successful law practice, right?

RW: My firm started in 1994 with a secretary, two paralegals and me. Since that time, we have grown to our current size, which includes fourteen lawyers and a staff of over fifty. We are the largest law firm in Jackson County and probably the third largest on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We have done this in just over ten years.

Since our initial involvement in the asbestos litigation, which we are still heavily involved in today, we have been retained to represent clients in other type of mass litigation and toxic tort litigation. Recently, a multi district litigation case was set up in Texas for all silica cases filed in the United States. Five attorneys were selected to act as liaison counsel on behalf of hundreds of defendants that had been brought into the litigation. We were very pleased that our firm was one of five firms selected to act as liaison counsel for all defendants in all silica cases in this country.

SP: Take us back to your first memory of the legal profession?

RW: When I was approximately ten years old, my father was in the real estate business and the purchaser of a home filed a suit against him. The allegations were that there were certain things wrong with the home that he failed to disclose. I sat through a week long trial with him and believe that was the defining moment when I knew I wanted to defend businesses. It also was unjust that he had to incur those costs in defending a merit less lawsuit. As it turned out, even if the home had been defective there was no way that he could have determined this because of the type of alleged damage. Further, his experts easily proved that in reality there was nothing wrong with the house.

SP: Why did you choose to defend businesses? What motivated you to do so?

RW: The reason that I am involved defending business is something that I cannot put to an exact reason other than that is what I am supposed to do. The semester before I graduated from law school I was offered and accepted a job at a plaintiff’s firm. Instead of being excited about this I knew something was wrong. Within one week I contacted them and advised them that was not the direction I wanted to go. As luck would have it, I received an offer from a defense firm on the Coast several days later and have been involved in defense work ever since.

SP: What were you thinking when you decided law was for you? What attracted you to this profession? What is it that you most love about being a lawyer?

RW: You will hear a lot of attorneys say that they joined the profession to help "the little man" and, I guess that is some of that in me, but our job is to protect businesses and corporations that are being unfairly accused in various lawsuits.

I am most proud of what we have accomplished for one of our clients that are involved in the asbestos litigation. Prior to our retention this particular small family owned corporation had over 100,000 cases pending against them and settlements in the cases had already depleted 50% of the coverage.

Since our involvement with this client we have not paid any monies whatsoever in settlement and have had the number of cases pending against the client reduced by approximately 50%. Again, in the first four years of the litigation the company had paid almost 50% of its insurance coverage in settlements. In the last eleven years, the company has paid nothing.

SP: How did you get to the point where you are handling in excess of 100,000 cases in 26 states?

RW: In 1991 I was involved in a trial in Jackson County, Mississippi, involving thousands of plaintiffs alleging asbestos exposure from Ingalls Shipyard. This was the start of plaintiffs filing suit against over one hundred defendants. Discovery dragged on and the case went to trial approximately two years after it was filed. At the time of trial, only fourteen defendants remained as the rest had settled. The risk of an adverse verdict by some many plaintiffs was overwhelming and, in my opinion, unfair. At that time, this was one of the largest asbestos trials to ever go to court in this country with the case effecting approximately 6,000 individuals.

I represented a manufacturer and two distributors of that manufacturer’s product at trial. After a four and a half month trial (held at our local fairgrounds because of the number of participants), the jury deliberated for ten days. At that time, there were only nine defendants left. Four defendants received a defense verdict including the three that I represented. That was my first experience in mass tort cases.

In 1995 I was asked to go to Charleston, West Virginia, for an asbestos trial representing the same client. At that time, that trial was the largest asbestos trial in the history of this country with the verdict affecting approximately 9,000 plaintiffs. As with the Mississippi case, there were numerous defendants in the trial. I was very lucky at that trial. I represented one of five defendants in the litigation that sold similar products. At the conclusion of trial, three of those defendants had chosen to settle. Two, including my client, went all the way to the verdict on the case. The jury returned a verdict in favor of my client, finding that our products were not defective, while finding the other similar manufacturer’s product defective. That was truly a significant event in my legal career and started my work nationally.

Several months after the conclusion of the West Virginia trial I was contacted by one of the manufacturers that had settled the case. This company is a family owned business and was involved in approximately 100,000 cases. They had become painfully aware that, at the rate they were going, they would run out of all insurance proceeds long before the last case was over. This was a family owned business that had been in existence for over fifty years. Through the efforts of their insurance carrier, we became involved in representing this company. Since that day, we have resolved approximately 50,000 cases on behalf of this client. We have only settled five cases of the ones that we have disposed of. The total amount of settlements of these cases is less than thirty percent of what was paid in settlements during the first two years this company was involved in the litigation. We have been representing this company for over ten years.

SP: Why are you so interested in defending class actions?

RW: I am adamantly opposed to class actions. Most of the cases that we have been involved in were not officially called class actions but they were virtually the same thing. I refer to this litigation tactic as the McDonald’s of the legal industry. What the plaintiff’s attorneys would do is sign up thousands of clients (most of whom were not sick) and sue large numbers of defendants. These attorneys would get a little bit of money from a lot of defendants and, at the end they would be extremely wealthy. If they had one thousand clients that received $10,000.00 none of the clients feel that they have received a lot of money but yet the attorneys are receiving $4,000.00 from each one of these clients and those attorneys have done quite well.

The system was designed to force defendants into settlement because of the number of plaintiffs. This system forced many companies to settle cases that they neither had liability in nor were the plaintiff’s sick. I am pleased to say that, for the most part, the laws have changed in the states that we are involved in and this does not occur anymore. Both Mississippi and Texas have made tremendous strides in basically banning this practice.

SP: What specifically sets your law firm apart from others?

RW: I believe there is one characteristic of this law firm that sets us apart from the majority of the other defense firms in this state and in the country. In litigation, it is too common of a practice for the defendant to settle at the courthouse steps. The majority of the clients that this firm represents have the philosophy that they did not do anything wrong and they will not settle. There have been too many instances of companies spending tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in defense only to have their attorneys tell them that they should settle, as the case gets ready for trial. We do not do that. In fact, we do not get involved in the settlement process as trial dates approach. Our willingness, if not desire, to go into the courtroom and actually take a case to jury verdict set us apart from many of the other firms.

SP: You speak with pride about your philosophy of not ‘settling’ out of court. Why is this so important to you?

RW: I believe that we earned this reputation and the ability to go to trial through our many years of representing municipalities in South Mississippi. Many of these cases involved allegations against a police officer. Since the cases are making allegations about the integrity of a police officer, the thought of settlement has never arisen. When we get one of these cases in, we know it is going to trial and we act that way from day one. We have been to numerous trials representing cities and police departments on the Coast and they agree with our approach that settlement is not an issue.

SP: What is it about defending business that makes you so passionate about it?

RW: There is no other occupation that I would rather be involved in than being a lawyer defending businesses and municipalities. In many situations the client is extremely stressed out over the filing of the lawsuit and fearful about the consequences. There are so many stories and rumors out there about how plaintiffs with bogus cases receive millions of dollars. There is nothing more gratifying than to tell a client, after investigating the case, that they are not liable and then proving that through the course of the litigation.

SP: Why do lawyers, in general, have such a bad reputation?

RW: I regret that the legal community is not held in high esteem with the general public. It is my opinion that the worse thing that ever occurred in the legal profession was the Supreme Court’s opinion allowing lawyers to advertise. Most of the advertisements that I see on television or hear on the radio embarrass me. If someone is injured and needs a lawyer then they will find the right person without being solicited by an avalanche of advertisements.

SP: But don’t all businesses have the ‘right’ to advertise their professional services or business products?

RW: It seems to me that the advertisements have the effect of causing more lawsuits to be filed than merits dictate. Unfortunately, there is little that the bar association can do to curb the advertisement as our courts have said that the attorneys have a right to do so. I just simply wish they would watch their ads at some point and realize how sleazy most of them are. One of the duties of a lawyer is to educate the public. I do not believe that the public needs any further education about their rights if they are injured because of the negligence of someone else.

SP: I know that your business was tragically a victim of Hurricane Katrina. What happened?

RE: I am most proud of what this firm has accomplished since its beginning and how we survived Hurricane Katrina.

I arrived at our office on the afternoon of August 29, 2005, to find the office destroyed. We had approximately six feet of water go through the entire office and rip out walls, knock down doors and destroy every piece of furniture. We lost approximately four million pieces of paper on that day. Although we had backed up all of the information onto disks and put them in safe places, we still were basically shut down from doing business.

As I have heard one person say, in four hours on August 29, 2005, our business went from being like the Jetsons to the Flintstones. We lost every phone, computer, brief case, book, piece of furniture and everything that I had accumulated in over twenty years of practicing law. It was obvious that it would be some period of time before we could be practicing law in that building. We also had the issue of fifty plus employees who had to continue to receive a paycheck. To compound the problem, most of the individuals in our office either had severe damage to their homes or had them totally destroyed. With very limited insurance coverage for our damage we were in quite a spot.

What transpired over the next thirty days was really remarkable. The staff and attorneys in this office were phenomenal. Within one week, a group of five lawyers and five paralegals left Pascagoula, some with absolutely no clothes, and traveled to our Houston, Texas office. We have two attorneys in Houston working out of a relatively small office.

These attorneys and paralegals worked out of Houston for the next forty-five days ensuring that our client’s interests were protected and our practice continued on. Another group of five attorneys and fifteen paralegals left Pascagoula and went to Jackson, Mississippi, to work out of our office in Jackson. Again, they allowed us to continue to practice law, protect our clients’ interests and make sure that our clients knew that we were back in business.

The efforts of these individuals at this office were absolutely amazing. Those that were unable to travel out of town remained in Pascagoula and worked out of two paralegals homes that were not damaged.

To top it all off, most everyone came back on the weekends and assisted with one of the nastiest jobs that I have ever done, that is, cleaning out the debris from our old office. We, of course, had contractors assisting us but we were so concerned with regard to the costs that everyone pitched in. Again, I cannot say enough about the individuals in this office that allowed us to continue to function.

There has been a great deal said in Mississippi with regard to insurance companies following Katrina. To say the least, there have been many negative reports about the insurance industry. I must make a comment with regard to my clients following Hurricane Katrina.

All of my clients attempted, in very ingenious ways, to contact us after the storm to make sure that we were okay and to do what they could to assist. I had several clients who looked at some of the cancelled checks that they had paid us in the past to find out information on our bank so they could wire transfer money to us even though we did not ask for it. Other clients offered their offices for us to relocate to while we tried to recover from the hurricane. In short, they offered to do whatever was necessary to help us through this disaster. They were phenomenal. I will never be able to fully thank St. Paul Travelers Insurance Company, Tyco, Crane Co., and others for what they did for us after the storm. Again, we did not ask, but they simply came to the rescue.

SP: On a completely different subject, I know that you are passionate about cars––as a hobby; and that you were just beginning a car wash business when you were devastated by Katrina. What happened?

RW: Getting into the carwash was somewhat natural for me. I have always loved automobiles and it is a running joke that I am going to wash the paint off the ones I own.

Expansion plans were certainly on the horizon for us and preliminary sites had been approved prior to Hurricane Katrina. However, like the rest of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Hurricane Katrina put a delay on our expansion plans. Since two of my three partners had their homes destroyed during the hurricane we really could not focus on building additional carwashes until they had a place to live.

SP: So you are an entrepreneur, a creator of business, as well as a defender of business?

RW: I got together with three other individuals who were involved in other businesses and we started the first carwash in Pascagoula. That carwash has been successful since its start and continues to be the most active carwash in this town.

(Since Katrina) We have now decided to open a second carwash and have just broken ground for a new carwash in Moss Point, Mississippi. We are also looking for property to open a third carwash once the one in Moss Point is constructed. I would like to say that a self-serve carwash can run without any assistance but that is simply not the case. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of my partners, we have been able to make the first carwash a success and planned on building as many as the market will bear. So far, no one has sued us!

SP: With your reputation for defending business against frivolous lawsuits, I’m sure that would be a risky affair for anyone who knows you and your reputation. Thank you for taking the time to tell Mississippi Capitalist your story.

California-based journalist Sara Pentz has written for national and regional magazines and been the Editor of several publications. She has been a TV news reporter/anchor, radio show host and currently writes optimized copy, articles and press releases for website clients.

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2006-01-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

Geotechnical Consulting Firm: Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc.
Salt of the Earth
By Sara Pentz

While you are reading this article in Mississippi you are standing on the same kind of expansive clay ground as that found in Jordon in the Middle East. At least in one respect, we have more in common with folks on the other side of the globe than we might have thought. In fact, the ground makeup throughout the world is actually fairly similar, composed of combinations of clay, silt, sand and gravel soils, and various types of rock.

Think this is of no importance to you? You think wrong––because without a clear knowledge of the ground we walk on, we could not have civilization as we know it today with tall buildings, interconnecting highways and safe landings at our airports.

“All of the soils were originally derived from rocks being broken down over the ages,” explains Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc.’s Senior Geotechnical Engineer and Geologist Tommy Dunlap. “In some locales, the rock is still fairly shallow, and even exposed, while in other areas, the rock is very deep, as it is throughout much of Mississippi.” So, in one sense, Jackson is on rock–solid ground.

Dunlap explains it this way: “Mississippi has deep compressible clays along our Gulf Coast, which cause similar problems as the compressible clays in the San Francisco Bay area. Shallow rock causes problems with construction in Birmingham, Kansas City and Belize.” Aha, more worldwide commonality!

Because of mass communication and advances in geotechnical engineering study, these concerns are successfully addressed in a similar fashion throughout the world. And that’s where Burns Cooley Dennis enters the picture. The company’s job is to verify that the foundations of society’s buildings are well supported.

The company monitors and tests earthwork, deep foundations, concrete and asphalt. At its facilities in Ridgeland, experts conduct moisture density tests during earthwork construction. They also monitor drilled pier construction, concrete construction testing and asphalt testing. The soils laboratory, for example, is equipped and staffed to perform strength and compressibility tests, permeability tests, classification tests, and other physical tests on routine construction materials tests and on advanced fundamental property research tests.

Since its founding Burns Cooley Dennis has successfully completed more than 5,000 geotechnical engineering projects for engineers, architects, industries, construction firms, developers, private individuals, local governments, and state and federal agencies.

In the past ten years the company has fulfilled more than 1,200 construction monitoring and materials testing projects for a wide variety of clients on various types of projects––including power plants in Mississippi, and lock and dam facilities in Louisiana, Illinois and Arkansas. Projects have also included hotels and casinos in Mississippi, and several large commercial/industrial facilities throughout Mississippi including the Nissan plant facility in Madison County.

“We’ve come a long way in twenty years,” says BCD Principal Larry Cooley, P.E. “The only equipment we owned (then) was a Mayhew 200 drill rig, a water truck and a pickup truck.”

“Then” began in a narrow office slot in a Jackson, Mississippi warehouse. Jammed into that cramped space was a reception area, two offices, a lab and a shop. That was the promising beginning of this geotechnical consulting firm that today resides in an 8,000 square foot modern facility in Ridgeland with clients big and small––bringing jobs to Mississippi and other states.

But BCD is not all about the hard reality of dirt, boulders and bulldozers––or even laboratory analysis. When you speak with the men at the helm of this company you learn about the pride they experience in their work, and how they treat their employees and clients. These words from David Dennis, Jr., Tommy Dunlap, and Randy Ahlrich:

The most outstanding aspect of Burns Cooley Dennis is our good
people. Quality service makes us successful. We are able to help
solve difficult problems for clients as well as everyday run-of-the-mill
low-tech problems. Our staff is experienced, knowledgeable, trained
and certified in all areas of construction materials testing and engineering.

The most important task we perform for each client is to solve their problems expeditiously, efficiently, and in a professional manner, so that they will continue to use our services for all future jobs.

So, what is this thing called geotechnology that the people at BCD do so well and know so much about?

From a broad point of view geotechnology is the science and engineering of soil, rock, and the fluids they contain. Basically, it is all about the nature of the earth itself and how it affects the things we build––the foundations upon which all buildings and bridges sit, the tunnels our subways run through, the sewers and water systems that run underground, and almost everything that comprises our national infrastructure.

For example, these studies help us find ways to manage hazardous and radioactive wastes that are often stored in the ground. They help us gain energy independence by increasing our understanding of how and where the earth produces gas, oil, minerals, geothermal energy, hydropower, nuclear materials, and compressed air, all of which help power our modern civilization.

Geotchnology helps predict and mitigate natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods and slope failures. It helps ensure our national security by developing ways to create underground defense facilities capable of surviving nuclear and high explosive attacks. And it is a key factor in exploring our remaining frontiers on earth, such as the Polar Regions and the ocean floor. And it will certainly be a part of our exploration of the universe beyond Earth itself.

Along these lines, the primary forensic evaluations that Burns Cooley Dennis conducts involve weak soils, expansive soils, unsuitable materials, inadequate designs and improper construction practices. Without the expertise and strategic advice of this company, and others like it, dams might break, buildings fall, highways crumble and trains collide.

In the long run, while the work of BCD may not be the hot topic at cocktail parties or an evening soirée, it is all about ensuring the safety and security of our lives.

“There is a need during every construction project for the testing of materials to assess whether the contract specifications are met,” explains Randy Ahlrich, senior geotechnical/pavement engineer. “The purpose of materials testing during construction is to evaluate the quality of the materials and construction practices. We provide clients with detailed reports indicating whether the materials are achieving specification requirements and if construction techniques are producing satisfactory results. Test data and reports are provided to the contractor that he can utilize to control the construction process, and to the owner to rely upon for acceptance and payment.”

What happens if a particular client–testing demonstrates that the earth is not safe for construction? Ahlrich explains: “Occasionally, soil conditions for a project are poor and require specialized efforts to provide adequate support for a structure. It is possible that problems have developed in a structure that might require a specialized effort to repair. The specialized effort for new construction activities may include deep foundations or extensive undercutting and backfilling. These options are very expensive. Alternative soil improvement techniques have been used on several Burns Cooley Dennis projects with significant cost savings.”

David Dennis, a founder and principal of BCD, began his career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District. “I assumed I would be there until I retired,” he says. “The Corps was a very good place to work.” Then he had an opportunity to move into private practice with a firm in Jackson. “I assumed I would work there until retirement.” The next assumption about retirement will probably be more accurate because Dennis teamed with his father-in-law (Cecil Burns) and Larry Cooley those 20 years ago to consolidate their expertise.

“When we started the company, it was very risky as most business endeavors are, and I had no idea how it would go,” explains Dennis. “We just knew we were good engineers and would work hard at providing a quality service for our clients. I never dreamed we would be the size we are today with 62 employees and that we would have the opportunity to work on some of the more interesting, large and technically challenging projects.”

When asked to name the most outstanding aspect of Burns Cooley Dennis the answer seems to be unanimous. “It is our good people,” Dennis says. “It’s the highly trained and experienced staff in geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, expansive soils and pavement engineering––and a facility with the latest equipment for testing soil, aggregates, concrete and asphalt.”

It would not be inappropriate to liken this quiet company to the “salt of the earth.” Salt is the only rock consumed by man. It doesn’t lose its flavor. It preserves perishables. It has been used as money. It is a metaphor for durability. It is emblematic of permanence. Without it man cannot live––the muscles won't contract, blood won't circulate, food won't digest and the heart won't beat.

2005-11-15T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Energizing Business of Oil and Gas Production

By Sara Pentz

The truth about the oil and gas business is that prices fluctuate because of the process of supply and demand. That is the way the free enterprise market works. That process has been over regulated for years with government curbing the progress of oil companies to expand drilling and refining.

But weather plays its own deadly game on the industry when it interferes with production. Oil prices have dropped about 15% from their peak on the day after Katrina while natural gas prices with different supply and demand dynamics are still close to historic highs.

Joe Sims, President of the US Oil and Gas Association, Alabama/Mississippi Division, based in Jackson, believes there are a number of significant opportunities for the Mississippi oil and gas industry as well as for companies from out-of-state who are active in the state. “With commodity prices being high, new ideas will come to the forefront and old ideas will make economic sense. Mississippi has a diverse geological setting and with the increased critical need for all fuels, unconventional and conventional, I think capital will be spent exploring and developing our natural resources.”

Sims points out that U. S. natural gas prices are a result of 1) the damage to onshore processing plants and shut-in production in the gulf and south Louisiana, and 2) an already tight market. In addition, there is pressure on refined products because of the hurricane and the damage done to gulf coast refineries.

“Supply was diminished because the refineries were shut down during the hurricane activity and 25 % of our country’s comes from gulf,” explains Jackson oil investor Wirt Yerger, III, of Crown Communications, LLC. “Central Mississippi was not hurt as badly as those who were drilling in the Gulf of Mexico because we are primarily a land based drilling area.”

Some analysts predict a continuing positive outlook for oil and gas companies in the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter 2006. Expect increased spending to develop the natural-gas industry, both domestically and internationally, by these large companies. And there is a general Wall Street ‘buy’ sign on the large oil companies as their stock continues to increase in value.

Still there are many who believe profits recently announced by the big oil companies should be penalized. But, according to others, that would prove fatal in the long run.

In a recent Townhall.com opinion article Ross Mackenzie writes: “Federal policy has assisted in multiple ways the developing crises in refined petroleum and natural gas. Regarding natural gas, easy-to-reach gas is tapping out, while federal policy long has discouraged - and still does - incentives for accessing the hard-to-reach. Regarding refining capacity, federal policy has hugely contributed - through environmental demands and requirements for boutique fuels - to a plunge from 324 refineries in 1981 (daily processing 18.6 million barrels of crude), to 149 in 2004 (daily processing 16.8 million barrels), and all while domestic demand for refined petroleum goes up.”

W.D. (Billy) Mounger, of Jackson–based Delta Royalty Company, Inc., has been in the oil business for a half century. “Years ago every oil company had offices here––Chevron, Shell, City Service. All of that is gone now. They’ve all moved to New Orleans or Houston. We have just a handful of independents left––the ones who had the wherewithal and the brilliance to survive. But they’ve had to pay the price to stay here.”

Ralph Hines, of Ridgeland–based Moon–Hines Tigrett Operation Company, says the hurricanes had no impact on his exploration business in the Alabama and Mississippi areas. “Gas prices have gone down some. Permits to drill are being issued routinely. Our business is okay even though we don’t have the margin of profit of the big oil companies. We’re continuing to do well in natural gas, a very valuable commodity right now. We see a pretty long period of increased activity for our business.”

Jackson’s Victor Smith, of Victor P. Smith Companies, puts together prospects that he thinks have a good chance of increasing commercial oil production. His company is hoping to have six new prospects in 2006. “In the past month, we have been delayed in some of our work in South Louisiana because some of the courthouses were not open and we weren't able to perform our land work,” he says of the effects of the hurricanes on his business. “We had minimal problems because of the hurricanes––but we are having some trouble with a well now that was interrupted by Katrina.”

Smith’s company is still on track regardless of those disruptions. “I believe our prospects for the future will be extremely good over the next three or four years. However, there will be some problems such as the availability of drilling equipment and the high cost of leases, and the possibility that Congress might come up with a windfall tax.”

Spooner Petroleum Company is an independent oil and gas producer formed in 1976. The company is involved in both exploration and production of oil and gas with land based operations located in North Louisiana, South Central Mississippi and Alabama.

Michael Spooner was fortunate that his company did not suffer damage to any of the facilities from either Hurricane Katrina or Rita, although he did experience a production shut-in due to the loss of electrical power. In addition, some of his field personnel could not get gasoline to fuel their trucks and therefore could not get to the production sites. They were also affected personally by the storms damage.

“We were able to restore most of the production within a few days,” Spooner explains. “Our most significant storm related problem involved a drilling rig at a well in Jones County Mississippi. We were forced to lower the derrick prior to the storm passing. The lowering of the mast proved to be a wise move because the eye of Katrina passed directly over the drill site. The cost to us as a result of the lost time was in excess of $100,000.”

For the Spooner Petroleum Company the future of the oil and gas business still looks good. “All oil and gas exploration and production companies,” explains Spooner, “are working diligently to supply our nation and the world with oil and gas. The world demand is continuing to increase and supply is tight. Oil companies, in particular independent companies (private not public), return their profits to exploration.”

While some government officials and consumers may bemoan these profits, it is essential for oil companies to make them in order to pay for the cost of permits, processing the regulations, drilling and building refineries.

“The notion that oil companies have some how manipulated the market to receive the current high prices is simply not true,” says Spooner. “The prices are controlled by supply and demand as determined by the world market.” In fact, the world market has changed considerably in the past years. China, India and other countries are consuming much more fuel and that demand has forced up prices.

Congressman Ron Paul of Texas is an advocate for liberty in politics. Writing in his weekly column recently he spoke to the issue of a free market for gasoline. “Many Americans understandably are upset with the sharp spike in gas prices since Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast in August, and are concerned by reports of oil company profits. But we must understand that high oil prices are not the result of an unregulated free market. On the contrary, the oil industry is among the most regulated and most subsidized of U.S. industries. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether too much government involvement in the oil markets, rather than too little regulation, has kept the supply of refined gasoline artificially low.”

Paul adds: “Most Americans agree that the American economy should not be dependent upon Middle East oil. He sites economist George Reisman, author of CAPITALISM: A Treatise on Economics––which has been called a magnum opus on the nature of capitalism and the clearest and most comprehensive defense of capitalist economic system available.

Reisman explains that our own domestic regulations make us slaves to OPEC: “Today, it is possible once again to bring about a dramatic fall in the price of oil – indeed, one even larger than occurred in the 1980s. And it could begin right away. All that is necessary is to abolish the U.S. government’s restrictions on domestic energy production inspired by the environmentalist movement.”

Paul writes: “Reisman also explains how abolishing restrictions on coal production, natural gas production, and nuclear power would further reduce the OPEC stranglehold. By increasing the supply of these other energy sources, demand for oil would decrease and prices would drop.”

Michael Spooner agrees with many economists and industry experts who say that the biggest threat to the oil and gas industry is negative legislation. “Currently there is much talk in Washington about punishing the oil companies by taxing away a portion of their profits,” he says. “That would be a tremendous mistake for the energy security of this country. Such a tax will do nothing to lower the price of oil, to build a new refinery or to lower the price of gasoline. In fact history has shown us that just the opposite will occur.”

As Spooner points out, the Carter Administration enacted such legislation in the late 70s with the Windfall Profits Tax. “That tax is partially to blame for the current energy situation in this country. Instead of punitive action with no benefit, Congress should enact legislation for incentives to the industry and to use sound scientific judgment concerning environmental regulation.”

Late last week Hillary Clinton and a few other officials in Washington joined forces to call for laws that would require oil companies to reinvest their profits in increasing refinery capacity in the United States. Clinton proposed to hit oil companies with $20 billion in new fees that would be used to fund research on clean energy. This, of course, according to many in the oil industry, will only drive up costs for oil producers that they would inevitably pass along to consumers.

But the feeling in Washington is that legislation must be enacted. In a New York Times article (October 28, 2005) written by Jad Mouawad and Simon Romero, the authors claim: “Today, Republicans and Democrats alike, aware of the politically sensitive issue of high energy prices, are putting increasing pressure on the oil and gas industry to return some of its profits. The ideas include forcing the industry to invest in more refining capacity, to increase inventories to cushion energy shocks, or to provide money directly to the government program that helps low-income people pay heating bills.”

This is exactly what Spooner is talking about. People in government are unwilling to let business operate on the principle of supply and demand. These tax proposals will only do damage to the industry and cause further shortages. Further, it is not consistent with the principles of economic freedom to use force against an industry for arbitrary political motives.

OAGA spokesman Joe Sims agrees. “New taxes on the industry would hurt new investment in the nation. The cost to find and produce oil and natural gas is significantly higher and we, as a policy matter, should be encouraging capital expenditures. Industry investments are capital intensive and have risks just like other business investments and we compete internationally with other countries for this investment.”

Some experts speaking to the oil profits say the big problem is the regulatory and permitting processes that makes it hard to do almost anything new and significant in refineries, including building new ones.

Spooner, Yerger, Hines, Mounger, Smith, and other investors in the business, like to hear about higher profits. “It makes more sense for us to drill for oil when prices are higher. We might take more risks and complete wells that we might not have completed,” adds Yerger. “When profits are lower we might need to plug and abandon our untapped wells.” And that is not good for any business––even those only allied with the oil companies––as well as the cities and towns in which these oil companies do business.

Of course, the business of drilling for oil is very risky. Yerger continues: “You may be successful on one out of eight holes and some investors may loose big time. Something like eight out of 10 holes are dry. If the price is high enough and you can find a good field–hopefully good geology with seismic research–then you can be successful and make good money.”

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2005-10-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sheldon Laboratory Systems

An A+ for Enhancing Scientific Learning

By Sara Pentz

Imagine how enthralling it must be for an adolescent science student to witness laboratory demonstrations in a classroom setting where his curiosity is constantly nurtured. Then picture that child as he begins to achieve an awareness of the technique of problem–solving that will motivate him toward a lifelong interest in the natural world.

Little does that youngster know he will be confronted increasingly with questions that require scientific information for informed decision–making. Throughout his years––in his elementary, high school and university science schooling––he will gradually grasp that concept and be grateful to those who helped make possible his thinking skills.

In one very important way Sheldon Laboratory Systems (www.sheldonlabs.com), based in Crystal Springs, is responsible for making this child’s science lesson easier, faster––more interactive and inspiring. The 100–employee Mississippi furniture company makes sure that school science labs are no longer filled with drab tables where students must crowd around one small microscope in an effort to catch a glimpse of a scientific demonstration.

Sheldon is a manufacturer of innovative science laboratory and casework equipment for the school, college, industrial, and healthcare markets. The company creates space-saving, multipurpose furnishings that are outfitting school labs from Mississippi to New Jersey to California. In addition, Sheldon has supplied equipment to Canada, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

For our little science student, kid-size tables imprinted with rulers, charts and other useful tools are just the right size to get his first taste of science. Sheldon has designed panels that hang on the wall and give teachers a way to demonstrate science experiments. Clay Thames, Sheldon’s VP/sales and marketing, talks about the growing demand for science classroom equipment for the elementary school market. “There’s a renewed effort to teach math and science at an earlier age,” he says. “Our products are more mobile and much smaller for this market.”

What makes Sheldon the teacher’s pet is the ingenuity applied to the design of its patented products. “I have seen standard designs evolve into innovative plans that meet the specific needs of our students and teachers,” explains James W. Collins, science program coordinator at the University of Texas in Austin.

“Our jobs can range from one science lab for a very small school to a multi-million dollar university project,” explains Sheldon President Eddie Adkins. “Our products have been designed to be an active part of the teaching and learning process. We are doing things to help classrooms utilize their space better. You know that old saying––tell me something and I’ll remember 20%. Show me and I’ll remember 40%. We’re providing the right environment for teachers to be interactive with their students.”

Sheldon’s patented designs are carefully planned to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The company maintains a relationship with the National Science Teachers Association in order to keep up with science teaching methods and standards.

Listening to their clients speak is a first priority because the company is constantly reconfiguring a classroom for a specific school’s needs. Sheldon looks for input from lab consultants, architects, builders, manufacturers and teachers to improve its designs.

Sheldon knows how to impact the equation so that everyone saves a dollar. “It’s clear that Sheldon has spent time communicating with educators and that Sheldon products are the results of extensive research and collaboration with the end user,” explains architect Dan Snead of Beckley, West Virginia. “Sheldon designs products that provide practical solutions to problems other manufacturers don’t even seem to be aware of. The Axis 3 System helped me to reduce the classroom laboratory areas by approximately 1000 square feet. This represented a savings in construction cost of over $100,000.”

Sheldon’s Axis 3 table, for example, is the first lab table to allow for the integration of standard desktop computers, flat-screen monitors or individual laptops. The table’s unique shape allows students to work facing their instructor around the perimeter of the table with access to a built- in sink, computer and all other equipment. The tabletop smoothly transitions from a standing height to a sitting height. Each has chemically resistant tops, a rotating computer monitor well and a wireless keyboard, with two cold water and gas fixtures.

Adkins and his team at Sheldon are about as proud of their company’s accomplishments as they would be if they had earned an A on their latest science exam. “We try to be quiet about what we do,” explains Adkins, who demonstrates his pride with his own modesty. “We let people watch us and see our successes. People in Mississippi probably don’t realize what we’re doing in the research and science business. For the some 6,000 people in Crystal Springs we’re the place where they want to work. Our employees have a lot of pride and passion. We’re supporting other Mississippi businesses––we’re touching as many Mississippi manufacturers as we can.”

Another innovative idea is the multimedia, boomerang shaped teacher desk that allows students to see demonstrations clearly. The desk provides space for a computer, VCR, LaserDisc player, Elmo and flex camera to be routed through an LCD projector onto a screen for classroom viewing and operated by remote control. A ceiling mirror over the desk can be dropped down and tilted at any angle to allow students to see the demonstration from overhead.

Adkins fully expects the multimillion–dollar company to continue growing by at least 15 percent each year. Patents have been obtained and others are pending on Sheldon designs which can nurture that growth. Since Sheldon is branching out into the elementary science classrooms with their products––following a trend throughout education to bring science to younger and younger students––future growth is fully expected.

Understanding science enhances the capability of students to hold meaningful and productive jobs in the future. The business community needs entry-level workers with the ability to learn, reason, think creatively, make decisions and solve problems. In addition, concerns regarding economic competitiveness stress the central importance of science and mathematics education that will allow this country to keep pace with global competitors.

When that little first grader enters his science classroom he will certainly be awed at the gadgets and gizmos that lie before him. It may look to him like a playroom. In fact, Sheldon Laboratory Systems, provides much more than that because it is the company’s intention to create a learning center for a child who will grow up to comprehend the world more clearly.

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Noted Economists Praise "Noble Vision' Novel - Press Release

2005-03-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

Noted Economists Praise New Novel Noble Vision
Reflects the Current Controversy in Healthcare
Should the government control the medical treatment of individuals?

(Chicago, IL – March 2005) When economists and social commentators rave about a new novel, it’s time to take note. Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate economist, says about Chicago author Gen LaGreca’s medical thriller Noble Vision: “The defects of government-controlled medicine are dramatized effectively in this page-turning story of the love of a brilliant physician for a beautiful ballerina who becomes his patient.” Also weighing in is magazine magnate Steve Forbes, who calls the book a “salutary tale of what can happen to medical breakthroughs if Big Government claws even deeper into our healthcare system!”

Noble Vision's accurate descriptions of the nightmares of state-run healthcare have earned endorsements from medical leaders, including Edward Annis, Past President of the American Medical Association, and Jane Orient, Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

Recent news events have raised the question: Should the government have the power to make decisions concerning a person’s medical treatment? Noble Vision examines this heated controversy—not through a dry nonfiction treatise but through the enchantment of fiction.

Author Gen LaGreca, a former pharmaceutical chemist and a healthcare writer, creates two intriguing characters—Nicole Hudson, the lovely Broadway dancer who rose to stardom from a disadvantaged childhood only to have her life shattered by a tragic accident, and David Lang, the impassioned neurosurgeon determined to restore her health no matter what price he must pay.

Nicole’s only hope is Lang’s revolutionary treatment—a way of regenerating damaged nerve tissue to cure paralysis and other nerve injuries. The trouble is that this new procedure is rejected by “CareFree,” New York’s universal health system, a bureaucracy bogged down in budget overruns, red tape, and political corruption.

The surgeon stands to destroy his marriage, lose his license—and even be arrested—if he uses his unauthorized procedure. But if he gives his patient the conventional treatment approved by the government, she will remain disabled for life. Should he follow his mind or obey the law? The patient ardently wants the experimental treatment. Should she be allowed to make medical decisions for herself, or should the government intervene? These issues wreak havoc in the lives of Noble Vision’s characters.

Asked what moved her to write Noble Vision, the author replies, “After years of working in the healthcare industry, I feel as if I’m witnessing the slow death of something great, something that shouldn’t be allowed to die—America’s gold standard of medicine.”

As innovative as its surgeon-protagonist, Noble Vision breaks the mold encasing much of today’s fiction. In an age in which plot stories and character studies, not to mention romances and thrillers, appear in distinctly separate categories of fiction, and far-reaching themes are rare, Noble Vision delightfully combines a rich mix of story elements in one satisfying read. The novel was a finalist in the Houston Writers League Manuscript Contest.

Noble Vision was released by Winged Victory Press, a Chicago-based independent press dedicated to publishing works that celebrate the American spirit of individualism. “There’s a growing demand for books reflecting our distinctly American ideals of liberty and limited government, as well as the personal initiative and achievement that result from being free,” says Ms. LaGreca. Winged Victory Press will also publish the author’s second novel, a semi-finalist in the Pirate’s Alley William Faulkner Creative Writing Competition.

For more information on Ms. LaGreca’s novel Noble Vision or her views on the healthcare controversy as the thematic conflict of the book, contact Sara Pentz, 949.719.0902, sara@sarapentz.com, or contact the author directly at glagreca@wingedvictorypress.com.

NOBLE VISION, a novel by Gen LaGreca
Distribution in US and Canada: Biblio Distribution/NBN
6 X 9 inches, 338 pages, published March 2005
Hardcover: ISBN 0-9744579-8-1, $27.95 US
Paperback: ISBN 0-9744579-4-9, $14.95 US
Available from bookstores in the US and Canada, Amazon.com, Laissez Faire Books (lfb.com), capitalism.net, and others.
Free excerpt is available at www.wingedvictorypress.com.

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Occupy Your Dreams - Article

2004-11-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

Occupy Your Dreams
At Time & Place Homes

By Sara Pentz

A sophisticated new service combining luxury and anonymity has entered the residential home market in recent years. International lawyer Mitch Willey, founder and president of Time & Place Homes, developed the concept stemming from his own hobby of collecting real estate properties. Willey combines his passion for prime real estate with the needs of travelers who want the services of a similarly priced hotel room with the greater space, privacy, independence and comfort of a real home.

“When traveling throughout the world, I sought the services of a five-star hotel but craved the solitude and convenience of a private home,” he explains. Two years ago Willey created his concept and—voilà!—today he represents some 75 homes around the world. Willey describes the business as a premier asset management firm of second and third homes, which can otherwise be daunting for owners to manage themselves.

The business premise is two-fold. Multi-homeowners can find a secondary income from renting their seldom-used properties. And, travelers can stay in exclusive home environments instead of commercial properties. Explains Willey: “We take care of our guests’ every wish while they are staying with us, and they never have to be concerned with a long-term legal agreement involved when purchasing a property.”

In each of the company’s residences, Willey has achieved the welcoming environment of a true home with a wide variety of design styles. A 16^th century French penthouse apartment in Paris has been up-dated with all the modern conveniences, while maintaining its original charm. In Palm Springs, an elegant mid-20^th century desert home still brims with Old Hollywood panache.

Each residence has been carefully renovated by a team of architects, landscape and interior designers with such features as Sub-Zero and Wolf kitchens, Waterworks fixtures, Penhaligon’s products, Frette linens, French antiques and lush swimming pools.

“Every one of our homes has what I call a “wow” factor. They may not be the most expensive or the largest, but they are the best,” he explains. “Still when all the luxuries and accoutrements are factored into the price, the costs are less than similarly priced hotels.”

Then there’s the ‘pamper’ factor. Willey takes pride in the personalized concierge services offered to guests. This include airport transportation, access to prescreened masseurs, private chefs, errand services, babysitters, personalized tours, private aerobics or yoga classes, cooking classes or golf instructions, Internet connections, fax, stereo, cable television and state of the art DVD systems. A concierge will even stock your kitchen before you arrive and a cleaning service will keep everything immaculate. When guests want to know where to dine out, shop or book a sunrise massage, all they need to do is ask their personal concierge.

Time & Place Homes’ apartments and estates are located in Palm Springs, Sonoma, Kauai, Puerto Vallarta, Nantucket, Beaver Creek and Jackson Hole, to name a few. Many properties are on the National Historic Registry and some have been owned or frequented by celebrities. Because of their expansive layouts and scenic settings, the homes are often the site of weddings, special events, television commercials or film productions. Time & Place properties are also popular for corporate retreats and executive housing. Companies use them for anything from brainstorming sessions and team-building exercises to unforgettable receptions.

So, if you’re looking for an unmatched and worldly spot to stay, you can find places in the heart of Paris, the center of town in Nantucket or on the slopes in Jackson Hole. Whatever your choice—17th century French, classic 50’s Palm Springs or the rich rustic Rocky Mountains—click on www.timeandplacehomes.com to occupy your dreams.

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Chipping Away at Bias - Article

2004-06-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Chipping Away at Bias
Commentary
By Sara Pentz

As John Adams said, more than two centuries ago:
"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes,
our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions,
they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

Faint in the background I hear the chip-chip-chip of a tiny pickaxe as it begins to expose the bias in the media. It is a fragile sound, but nevertheless it is there in response to the increasingly open criticism of the media from all sides of the spectrum. Taken collectively there is evidence to indicate that the end result may open a crevice into which those who do not report with objectivity and integrity will fall—unless they find it absolutely necessary to listen to the whittlers in the forest.

There are reasons to hope for a more fair and responsible media. For one, the expansion of Internet sites devoted to demonstrating biases has taken the lead. Sites like Townhall.com and Spinsanity.org (“Countering Rhetoric with Reason”) cut to the chase analyzing biases. For another, some book publishers looking at the bottom line have finally discovered that books critical of media bias actually sell.

Former CBS correspondent Bernard Goldberg’s books “Bias” and his newest one “Arrogance” have exposed bias on a first person basis making Goldberg a highly reliable source. When Goldberg revealed that, “…his network—and all the others—were liberal,” it came as a shock to his colleagues. He wrote, “…the liberal press had been talking to themselves for so long, they all believed that every other sane person shared their views, and that Republicans, the NRA and pro-lifers were all wackos.” The response from Liberals was to flail him over a hot stake. His books have sold very well.

There are other small fissures exposing media bias which, when taken as an overview, seem to reflect the general appearance of an anti-bias uprising. At NBC, Today Anchor Katy Couric is said to be losing popularity with viewers and The Today Show is losing ratings. For example, sounding like a good Liberal, she claimed that the capture of Saddam Hussein was only symbolic. Not that Couric is the only one who colors her reports and interviews. Maybe that’s why the public is voting with a remote control.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the BBC is in trouble. Recently, an independent inquiry looked at the BBC’s report about supposedly “sexed up” information regarding weapons of mass destruction in order to sway the British public against the Iraq war. The inquiry found all allegations entirely unfounded, vindicating the government—but not before the tragic suicide of the reporter’s source. The report precipitated the resignation of the BBC chairman, the director-general and the reporter responsible for the debacle. Later it was reported that the British government was considering a plan to break up the BBC and remove its independent status.

Early this year ABC News made an amazing confession of sorts about its own bias. On its own website the Network published “A Note” written by the political unit:

* Like every other institution, the Washington and political press corps operate with a good number of biases and predilections.

* They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared sense that liberal political positions on social issues like gun control, homosexuality, abortion, and religion are the default, while more conservative positions are ‘conservative positions.’

* They include a belief that government is a mechanism to solve the nation's problems; that more taxes on corporations and the wealthy are good ways to cut the deficit and raise money for social spending and don't have a negative affect on economic growth; and that emotional examples of suffering (provided by unions or consumer groups) are good ways to illustrate economic statistic stories. ...

* It still has a hard time understanding how, despite the drumbeat of conservative grass-top complaints about overspending and deficits, President Bush's base remains extremely and loyally devoted to him – and it looks for every opportunity to find cracks in that base.

The fact that ABC posted this information on its own website for all to read deepens the chipping by a considerable margin. But then along comes The New York Times with a brilliant new idea. The solution to a Liberal bias, they determined in a formal announcement, was to examine “…conservative forces in religion, politics, law, business and the media...” by giving a new Conservative beat to a former media correspondent. Here now would be reports from one man about all the conservative views on Earth while the rest of the staff would continue to write from their own Liberal viewpoint. It was typical Times politics to pretend that this was the answer to bias, but—still—it was an admissions of sorts.

The top people at The Times, and others, surely have not changed their politics or philosophy—or even acknowledged their bias. But The Times, even in this convoluted manner—by implication—has admitted that it is publishing slanted material. That act alone might convince us that the faint chipping away we hear might one day lead to the non-objective stalwarts in the forest falling one-by-one upon their swords—ending the monopoly of media bias. Just maybe!

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2004-04-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

The Diminishing Art of Inquiry

By Sara Pentz

Watching television news programs over the years I have become saddened by how many interviewers use questions as a vehicle for their own political agenda. Today, the art of inquiry in the media has digressed into a platform for speechmaking. Often its purpose is to create doubt, even to dispute facts with which the interviewer disagrees. This behavior allows reporters, and especially TV hosts, to obfuscate the truth, slant it, proselytize, or even forge new versions of the facts to fit a certain agenda. This is a disease that is breaking the back of journalism.

Asking clear and direct questions, without sneaking in a personal viewpoint, is essential to the end result of obtaining clear and direct answers from the interviewees. The art of inquiry requires a solemn promise on the part of the questioner to maintain objectivity.

There are general rules that govern the journalist’s questioning process. They are referred to as the 5Ws: who, what, when, where and why. The most critical of these is “why.” By asking the why, the logic and reasoning of the interviewee can be observed. By repeating this singular question many times, one can observe the depth, breadth and basis of their thinking. This method of inquiry can reveal the interviewee’s character, his inability to articulate his ideas or his deliberate desire to distort. It will reveal hidden agendas, opportunism and deceit—or insight and enlightenment. Question asking is the critical mass of journalism.

The deterioration of question asking by the media has prompted some newspapers, magazines and online newsletters to list offenders. The Media Research Center, for one, recently selected some examples of network TV news question-abuse as documented over several days in late November 2003. Herein are three examples with comment:

#1- "Forty Americans have been killed in the last 10 days, over 400 killed since the war began - more than the number lost during the first three years of Vietnam. Would you concede that things are very dangerous and continue to be extremely messy and difficult in Iraq?" -- NBC's Katie Couric to Ambassador Paul Bremer on Today , November 17 Does Ms. Couric think wars are not messy? Her question is not meant to pursue the truth. In addition, her facts are wrong. Some tens of thousands were killed in Vietnam in that period of time.

#2- "The President said during his remarks to the troops: 'You're defeating terrorists in Iraq so we don't have to face them in our own country.' Now, there's no connection between Iraq and 9/11. Why does the President persist in tying those two together?" -- CBS's Harry Smith to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on the November 28 Early Show. Mr. Smith posits there is no connection between Iraq and 9/11. It is an agenda-filled statement, since facts to that effect have not emerged one way or the other. The second part of his statement about the President ‘persist(ing)’ is a deliberate slur. The appropriate question to Ms. Rice might have been, “Do we know (or how do we know or when will we know) that by defeating terrorists in Iraq, we will not have terrorism in our country?”

#3- "There's obviously great symbolism to this trip, because it is important for a Commander-in-Chief to come and see his troops. But so is there symbolism in that things are so unstable that he had to sneak in, in darkness, that he never left the airport, that he could only stay two and a half hours. Isn't there symbolism in the fact that it points up that not much has changed in eight months?" -- ABC's Charles Gibson asking Condoleezza Rice about President Bush's Thanksgiving Day trip to Iraq, on the November 28 Good Morning America. Mr. Gibson has consciously described the trip in words that clearly belittle the President’s action and, by innuendo, undermine the trip and its intent. In fact, the President went to Iraq to see the troops and boost their morale. Because of the war the trip was clearly dangerous.

Each of these statements is based on the premise that the media’s role is to teach, not to inform. Members of the media, in general, believe that the public cannot be trusted to make appropriate judgments, since the average mentality, they say, is that of a 12-year-old. By exercising the 5Ws, the opinions of questioners can be held in check. Of course, this presupposes integrity and commitment on the part of the journalist.

I recently reread the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists as a reminder of the purpose and responsibilities of this profession. The document warns: “Deliberate distortion is never permissible. Examine your own cultural values and avoid imposing them on others. Support the open exchange of views, even views you find repugnant. Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.”

No honest journalist can read that document and listen to TV hosts without a sense of shame at the diminishing art of inquiry.

(Journalist Sara Pentz has worked as a TV reporter/anchor and has written for local, regional and national magazines and newspapers.)

2004-03-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

CAPITALIZING ON A CHARM

By Sara Pentz

The idea of mixing and matching fashions takes on new meaning when you’re a client of Southern California-based JudeFrances Jewelry. The concept of interchangeability for clothing has been an accepted mode with the fashion savvy for years. But Jude Steele and Frances Gadbois have taken the concept to a new level with their mix and match jewelry and charms. The concept has also caused a fashion rage with retail outlets like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue carrying the company’s upscale niche jewelry.

For example, one piece of jewelry can be worn as a necklace and on another occasion as a bracelet. Another piece can hang on a leather or gold chain. Many of the JudeFrances earrings are based on the interchangeability of the charms they bear. This is how it works. Take one plain diamond hoop earring, slide on some turquoise and pearls and—voila—you have created earrings that will match your outfit for the day. Or take one hoop, add a chandelier or a long straight dangle drop and now you’re ready for a night out in your most delicious evening clothes.

“After a year we realized that charms are big business,” explains Frances. Women love the idea of creating an earring to match or complement an outfit. Instead of having that one expensive piece of jewelry to wear on a special occasion, they can buy an assortment of charms in all kinds of semiprecious stone configurations and proceed to create an entirely unique look. Initially, Frances was the interior designer and Jude the fashion photographer dabbling in jewelry design. Today, they are more productive as a team because their tastes are complementary. Fusing their creativity was the magic bullet.

Through a series of sound business decisions, fashion wisdom, hard work, long hours, managing children and coping with their creative identities, the two have turned that $9,000 initial investment into a seven-figure operation—and counting.

Their jewelry line consists of time-honored crowns and crosses laden with colorful stones. Jude tends to be the trendsetter specializing in edgy funk. Frances is the conservatively-elegant type. In the early days, for example, Frances doodled a flower with heart-shaped petals that was fashioned into a charm and it became one of their most popular pieces. But there are no cliché-ridden designs in this collection, even though they create crosses, crowns and fleur-de-lis—each a symbol of royalty—in every conceivable pattern. “We finally buckled and did a whole new line of hearts,” Jude admits. The new line is set to debut around Mother’s Day.

While their jewelry line is on the fast track of popular appeal, it is also in the black. “Our charms are such a big hit and by developing the charm line we have naturally created our own repeat customer,” explains Jude alluding to the dream of every retailer. “Also, women love to collect—who doesn’t—and that is an additional element of our success. You can choose charms from a price range of $300 to $3,000.” A word for the wise: give your husbands a list of charms, and shopping for the wife is as easy as a mouse click at www.judefrances.com.

The company is garnering praise from the abundant media coverage it has received as the new kid on the block. It’s a problem most retailers would love to enjoy. Recently, the two women were showing their wares at a truck show in Beverly Hills. They almost fell over themselves when they saw high profile celebrity Oprah Winfrey coming towards them. Afraid to ask, but anxious to please, they politely showed Oprah their line and she bought the Guinevere Cross on a hand pulled chain and the fleur-de-lis charm for the diamond hoop earrings. Later they sent Oprah a circle necklace featuring a dangling white topaz briolette that the famous talk show host often wears on her television show. The buzz generated was immense and phone calls from Oprah viewers came flooding in. “We used to call this the open circle. Now we call it the O Necklace,” explains Frances.

Other celebrities sport the JudeFrances line. “Mindy Burbano, of KTLA Los Angeles fame, is wearing our jewelry on TV and has been so supportive,” adds Frances. Jude remembers it was only two years ago that they were struggling to get attention from boutiques and retail stores. Now buyers are scampering after the JudeFrances line based on the publicity they have received and the salability of the pieces. The limelight has brought other accolades including the award for Innovation presented at the 2004 JA New York Winter Show this year for the exhibitor with the most creative and original marketing plan. No coincidence that is was called the Big Apple Campaign.

Color it onyx, aquamarine, amethyst or apple green, the real color of the bottom line for JudeFrances Jewelry is abundant success. The two women are projecting that 2004 will see a two-fold increase in the financial numbers etched at the bottom of their already burgeoning P&L statement.

Sara Pentz is a professional journalist living in Corona del Mar. She has been a TV reporter/anchor and has written for local, regional and national magazines and newspapers. www.sarapentz.com

March 05, 2004

2004-02-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

Stephen R. Sutherland: A Futurist

By Sara Pentz

Real estate visionary and Newport Beach resident Stephen R. Sutherland’s professional career has embraced the development of some of the most exclusive resorts, residences and private estates around the world. After decades of real estate development experience his thematic design firm has earned a reputation as an international leader in architecture, interior design, purchasing and construction management. This is a man whose singular vision has brought home and resort living to life on some of the most stunning land on Earth.

Sutherland’s expertise covers concept development and land acquisition. He has done site planning for an 18-hole golf course including 120 luxury residences surrounding that course. He has created a 200-room luxury resort with a view all the way across the Mediterranean Sea to the cliffs of North Africa. “I was also commissioned by one of the wealthiest families in Mexico to create a waterfront hacienda as a personal family residence for use only over the Christmas Holidays. The hacienda converts to an intimate 30-room resort the rest of the year,” he explains. This hacienda/resort has recently been shown on The Travel Channel as one of the 10 best resort hotels in Mexico.

In 1999 he sold his firm, Stephen R. Sutherland Company, to his employees. Soon after, European based Capital Suisse Bank recruited him to develop and head a new property investment division for the bank. During his tenure he negotiated the acquisition of and designed the new banking headquarters for Capital Suisse in the United States, Spain and the Private Banking Headquarters on the Rock of Gibraltar. At the same time he acquired and designed, for Capital Suisse, the Costa del Sol Resort and Country Club—nearing construction—located on the Mediterranean Sea in Casares, Spain.

Sutherland’s impressive list of clients includes Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott / Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons / Regent Hotels & Resorts, Camino Real / Western Hotels, to name a few. Over the years he opened architecture & design offices in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Marbella, Spain.

Sutherland has created luxury living for many from these international offices. He has planned and built many rooms-with-a-view in old world enclaves that face the sea and vacation towns across continents. With a host of world-class clients he has traveled to the most exotic locales to ensure his services remain first class. And during those travels he became enveloped by the elements of design that have been infused with a style and elegance confirmed by the judgment of time.

With all this affluence, travel and architectural artistry as his mecca, he admits, “I am happier now than I have ever been; now that I’m married and enjoying my two-year-old baby girl Sarah.” Life seems peaceful and yet still stimulating for this newly minted family man. Not content to languish in his past successes, today Sutherland’s finely honed skills in the ‘art of visionary design’ are focused on his hometown of Newport Beach where his plans for the future are certainly grand.

One project is the design and development of the luxurious 110-guest room MarinaPark Resort, being planned on the waterfront in Newport Beach. Another is the development of a new Real Estate Division named The Architectural Collection. “This company will obtain and highlight listings of estates and waterfront homes that have a basis of architectural beauty to be matched with potential buyers looking for the spectacular but not having the time to go through all of the standard steps when dealing with a real estate firm,” Sutherland explains. “With my global contacts we expect to find those special buyers who want a distinctive home in Newport Beach or other world-class locales. Two major real estate firms have contacted Sutherland wanting to be a part of this program.

The 43-year Newport Beach resident has been active in the community as a businessman and resident over the years—in between his travel and work. He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Economic Development Committee for the Newport Beach City Council. He is Honorary Co-Chairman of the Business Advisory Council for the National Republican Congressional Committee, and in 2001 he received the California Businessman of the Year Award.

What Stephen R. Sutherland envisions for Newport Beach is a combination of his immense knowledge and history for creating ‘castles’ to enhance the scenery and focus the eye on beauty. Such is the case embedded in his personal and business motto: “Success is a Seven Letter Word that Spells Quality.” Through with constant traveling now, he has come home to Newport Beach to recreate his world vision on this lovely land by the sea.