Carol Cain Interview

Muaz Halees

As many of my closest friends can attest, I can be so persistent that it borders on annoying. But this time my annoying persistence led to a wonderfully informative interview with Carol Cain. I was honored that she decided to take some time out of her busy schedule to spend with The Method.

She has parlayed her position as editor of her third grade school newspaper into an illustrious journalism career, working at United Press International, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, and CBS. I read her insightful Detroit Free Press column religiously, and wholeheartedly recommend it to you (http://www.freep.com/section/COL24). She is also the Editorial and Community Affairs Director of Detroit’s two CBS owned stations, WWJTV and CW 50, (www.cbsdetroit.com).

She is the host and creator of Michigan Matters, a metro Detroit based television show that focuses on political, educational, and business issues concerning Detroit and the state of Michiagn as a whole. Show clips and poignant viewpoints from Carol Cain and her regular panelists can be found on the website (http://wwjtv.com/shows/detroit.shows.michigan.2.7080.html).

She received a 2009 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter Emmy Award for her work on the WWJ-TV Eye on the Future series. The initial installment of the “Eye on the Future” series was “Building Bridges: From the Great Lakes to the Great Wall,” and should be required viewing for anyone remotely concerned with the Michigan economy and its future. The series can be seen in full at the website: http://wwjtv.com/buildingbridges

She has appeared on C-Span, CBS, NPR, and CNN; and we at The Method are extremely grateful that we had the opportunity to interview her.

The Method: I’m sure you’ve been asked this before, but why, as a journalist, did you choose to return to school (The University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business) and earn your MBA?

Carol Cain: Ironically when I started to get my MBA a lot of people were scratching their heads, as to why someone in journalism would want an MBA. At the time when I got it the economy was shifting dramatically and there were so many more business stories that I was starting to write about and edit and I didn’t have a full understanding which makes me uncomfortable. So the reason why, was so I knew more about the kinds of stories and things that were going on- the shifting economy. And even back then when I started it was obvious that the economy of Michigan was changing; and I couldn’t plan to be in one place forever so the MBA made me stand out going forward. But I believe it made me a better writer, a better editor, and a better manager. The University of Michigan has a wonderful MBA program and I am glad I did it.

TM: So it gave you a clearer view of the business world?

CC: Yes, an understanding of the business world as a whole and from the standpoint of writing and commentating on it as I do. I think it’s foolhardy to think once you’re done with your undergrad degree that that’s it you’ll never go back to school. I enjoy the process of learning I think that a good journalist is always into learning and evolving. It’s just part of an evolution and the MBA has helped me a great deal. U of M being a heavy quantitative program gave me exposure to a wide variety of contacts- to engineers and accountants –the kind of people that do not often work side by side with a journalist.

TM: The path a writer is on barely ever crosses into the quantitative, math based path.

CC: Michigan (The University) had a focused, group project mentality of doing things, and you realize no one person is good at everything, therefore you learn how to work better in a team. It’s like the real world you learn how to juggle and work with people towards making the end product, your project, whatever you’re working on better. It was a very helpful learning process. As we know working in the real world is a collaborative process, putting out a newspaper is a collaborative process, my TV show Michigan Matter is a collaborative process. It may be Michigan Matters with Carol Cain, but there are many more behind the scenes working together towards the goal.

TM: Detroit is a city whose economy was predicated on the entrepreneurial spirit- do you still see that spirit today?

CC: I see the entrepreneurial mindset being reborn in many ways. As we shift in this economy with the traditional auto manufacturing base dramatically changing and being affected by the economic tsunami, not just by globalization but by technology and the major economic woes and impacts of the credit market- people are realizing they can’t go work for a “GM” and expect them to take care of you forever. It has forced people to tap into what made this state so great a hundred years ago. I think the state in many areas lost touch of that spirit because things were going so well. The economy has gone bye-bye and it’s not going to come back in the broad based way – so where to go from here. The entrepreneurial mindset is coming back and will help save this state.

TM: How do you feel about the growing support for more open source funding initiatives?

CC: Anything we can do to help create more businesses is a good thing. Part of the challenge is that Michigan has not been on the forefront in the venture capital market. I think the challenge is how to get dollars to the hands of small businesses. But where there is a will there is a way, they have a tenacious spirit. What they (entrepreneurs) have and I don’t know if they are born with it or learn it, but they have this fearlessness about the challenge of finding capital, employees, someone to add support- but they charge ahead. An entrepreneur is a special type of person. I think we are going to see more of those people with the state of the economy being what it is.

TM: From what I’ve gathered many people on the outside view the business world as an old boys club- but I think a lot of those are external views- I think that the internal reality is that the business world- more than any other is a strict meritocracy- regardless of sex. But your piece on Mike Cox and the fact that he has zero women on his finance committee brought light to an issue I thought had passed. You have a unique vantage point of the business world, do you believe there higher hurdles for women than for men?

CC: Sexism, higher hurdles, I think the higher you go in the echelon of corporation the less women you see running the GMs or the Dominos- is there a reason for that along the way, is there a glass ceiling, are they finding other successes away from the traditional corporate structure- I don’t know. My article referenced The White House Project, which is geared towards getting more women involved in politics and policy making positions. The representative I talked to in the article believe that women aren’t necessarily raised to think politically which may be why none were available to be on his finance committee. Women have made many advancements and continue to make many inroads, but again there are still challenges ahead. But when we have a tough economy it makes things a lot more difficult for everyone. A lot of good things can come from tough times – 20 years from now we will be able to see what came out of all the things we are juggling today, as a state and as a country.

TM: So would you give different advice to a graduating female MBA than a male MBA?

CC: No in fact, when you look at success, you want someone who believes in what they’re doing and works hard. Many successful people don’t walk into it. They work harder, more diligently, and smarter; it’s not the 7 days a week 24 hrs a day worker; it’s thinking out the box, and finding a balance in your life. It is difficult for many driven people to not work 24/7. I do think that having an MBA is a very good thing. I never regret doing it and I would advice a young person going forward, starting out, to do it. To me it has given me something else that has made me a deeper journalist and a better manager.

TM: In your “Building Bridges: From the Great Lakes to the Great Wall” special you spoke about how Michigan’s economy can grow through Chinese partnerships. Why China?

CC: I had started writing a column about the entrepreneurial mindset in the Free Press, and I started getting all of this information from small business and business people setting up operations in China. We know that GM, Amway, and those types of large companies had operations in China, because of China’s population. But I was perplexed that small businesses with barely enough employees to set up in China were moving there. I read hundreds of articles about Michigan and China and there connections. At the time Michigan’s economic sector was already dwindling, so I came to a point that I had to go see it not just write about it. I have been over there 3 times. The CBS station I work with in Detroit decided to do it as part of its Eye on the Future series. So I went over there and talked to many people from Michigan residing over there and many people in China coming to Michigan to work. Why China, because I believe going forward this relationship is one of the things that will help save Michigan’s economy. They hold Michigan and the auto industry in such high regard; they know Henry Ford more than they know Bill Gates. We spoke with 3 governors, Rick Wagoner, the Chinese ambassador to the US, DeVos was in there; tons of people. The Chinese economy is still growing and building by leaps and bounds, and they are looking for things to buy and we have a lot of things available in this state, so I see the building bridges continuing and the opportunity for Michigan’s economy to grow in tandem with China’s.

TM: If we become too heavily invested in China do we not risk another global financial meltdown along the lines of the current one with all the other countries heavily vested in the US performance? Chinese lending continues to accelerate even though corporate profits as a whole are shrinking – there is a threat that they are incubating a financial crisis that may be triggered when the initial stimulus high wears off.

CC: China is already heavily invested in the US and vice versa. If the Chinese were to cut and run from all they were doing in this country our economy would falter in a major way. There is a lot of investment going on in both ways. There middle class is just coming into their own- spending wise. They are growing, Rick Wagoner (former GM CEO) said China was there number one market. A construction crane may as well be the national bird for all the growth, and expansion going on in China. They love, and I mean love US products. I tell people until you see it, you will never understand the opportunity available. Business is about looking for opportunities and I believe there will be more building of bridges between Michigan and China moving forward. But there is also India, Brazil, and Russia, more of those relationships will grow as we move forward.

TM: You wrote a piece about Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance and he said -“You can be effective at advancing change without having to be a politician.” This was regarding the reestablishment of the Michigan Business Leadership Counsel. I may be cynical but I don’t believe it possible without being tied to politics, especially since the first counsel fell apart and all of these business leaders have significant political ties already and pronounced self interests, for legitimate change to occur on a national or global level.

CC: They are going to meet in September; many things are on the table, who knows what’ll come out of it. But I think the headliner is this – Michigan has tons of unique challenges beyond what the country faces. No one person is going to solve this; it’s going to be more of a collaborative sort of thing. If everyone stays in an “us versus them” mentality nothing will get done for either group. They will have to come up with a strategy different form the current one. Politics will have to come into play. But I think they are going to try and change the state’s tax policy, which many view as anti business. Whether you talk to Rothwell, DeVos, or Livernis; they are all trying to do things now to better position the state for the future.

TM: How far removed can these leaders get from the partisan disagreements to actually get something done?

CC: Regardless of party ties, we need creative ideas to get us moving in the right direction. And that is the goal of their meeting.

TM: Moving in the world of journalism now. With the way media and new media is developing- all fast paced and quick blog/twitter type of reporting are we losing good journalists? Do you believe we will ever see another Halberstam or Woodward and Bernstein or even another Hunter S. Thompson?

CC: The way information is being delivered is evolving. When I give speeches to universities I tell them not to get tied to the way news is being delivered. There will be new ways we can’t even comprehend today. I went to a conference in the mid 90s with every major US newspaper in attendance, and they were giving a lecture about the internet, and its effects on journalism. I looked around and all the faces were like “when is this over, this doesn’t affect us.” Now 15 years later it is dominating our lives. I think we will always have journalists, although the vehicle will continue to evolve. Whether it’s through print, online, or digital methods, they will persevere.

TM: Could Woodward and Bernstein receive the support in today’s climate to research and develop All the President’s Men over the time that they did?

CC: I think they will always have resources to do so. All media entities are challenged today. The big issue is that it is a money making operation- yes it furthers the freedom of speech, but its goal is to be profitable; and that is a challenge especially in this environment. Readership is up, people are reading more things, not necessarily just newspapers, maybe your book if it’s a best seller. But it’s all becoming so niche. So if you are only interested in sailing you will be able to get anything you want on sailing sent directly to you, whether that is print, online, or digital. Journalism has been around for so many years, and it will continue to be around in the future- it is too important, which is why our forefathers made free speech an amendment.

TM: People focus too much on breaking news- when groundbreaking news is what is remembered and fuels sales. Breaking news is overrated – accurate groundbreaking news is what we want. Newspapers can’t compete on speed, but they can compete and differentiate on quality. I fear that the two years it took to write All the President’s Men will not be available to today’s journalist. I am afraid that the attention to detail that newspapers have will be lost as they try to compete with blogs.

CC: Things change. Recently I looked at a paper from 70 years ago; there is nothing but text, and about 25 stories on this nut grass type of thing. The info that we are getting will be packaged differently. On a regular basis people may not want long stories. There will be a number of vehicles used to get news to people. From the 140 character twitter posts to a number of longer news options available. The industry has changed and will continue to change dramatically. I speak to many high schools and universities and my message to students looking to get into this field would be to get used to change because that is the name of the game going forward.

The Healing Process

If you’re real quiet you may be able to hear the Palin bedtime stories interspersing death panel myths with warnings of the boogie man. You may also be able to hear the health care lies emanating from Betsy McCaughey’s hollow thoughts. Not even Søren Kierkegaard could handle all this absurdity. We may need a separate health care bill just to deal with the apparent pathological liar epidemic. Let’s try and hit the mute button on all the health care lies.

Our country’s healthcare system will continue to fail because its opponents are savvy. They didn’t like what was being said so they changed the conversation. Our healthcare system will continue to fail because its proponents are lost. And Obama hasn’t been able to get us back on track. A political red herring and a multitude of ad hominem attacks have left this administration scrambling.

My audacity is intact, but my hope is fleeting.

Republicans claim that a private enterprise could never compete against a government-run enterprise. Out of the other side of their mouth they claim that all government-run enterprises are far too inefficient to work and would fail so catastrophically that we would never be able to recover.

Well, that’s quite a conundrum, isn’t it?

Private companies will fail when in direct competition with the more effective government. But the government runs everything so poorly that they are never effective.

What happens when two and two don’t equal four?

My sympathy goes out to politicians that have to deal with these problems while raising children in this mixed-up world. They will have had to choose between public and private schools, all the way from kindergarten to college. Upon completion how will those children ever mail resumes or grad school applications? Will they use FedEx, UPS, or the USPS? How will they ever decide? What if some of those children choose to defend this great country instead of working a nine-to-five? Do they go the private Blackwater route, or the public socialist U.S. military route? How they are both even in existence is a mystery? There is no way they could work in tandem. When their children decide to buy a home they will probably opt for the FHA loans that have made normal bank loans so inconsequential. Wait a second—they may not even need a loan, why pony up the extra coin for a home in a private gated community when they could opt for Section 8 housing—Martha’s Vineyard in New England or Martha’s neighbor in Bed-Stuy? And who will their children choose to represent them in court when they default on that loan, Gloria Allred or a court-appointed lawyer? I hope those children are prepared for this lack of clarity, this uncertainty, the impossibility of private and public enterprise to coexist.

Allow me to further illuminate that light-bulb flickering above your head. The red herring is a mutually exclusive argument. Each piece of that argument is based more on fears and lies than reality.

“If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” ~ South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint

The Republicans view the healthcare debate as a war against Obama, while Obama views it as a war against insufficient health care.

“The person who doesn’t scatter the morning dew will not comb gray hairs.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Let’s scatter the dew; let’s ignore the Republican attempt to maintain quo’s status. Let’s perform the will of the people and let Democracy guide. America voted to give the Democrats control of everything, so Democratic ideals are the people’s will. The hope of change got you in, gave you the opportunity to execute that change. You made promises and were elected because of our hopes, because of our desire for that very change. So far we have nothing. You are swimming against the swell of support you earned. You are not doing what you promised, what we entrusted you to do, what we hoped you would do.

The audacity of hope: yeah, now I get it.

Lost Spirits: The Old-Fashioned Way

Let’s face it: people were a lot tougher 150 years ago. Back then, a man could lose his leg to the war, his family to a cholera epidemic, and his savings to a robber baron—and still make it to the pub in time for happy hour. Nowadays we declare a minor emergency if retail clerks won’t honor our expired coupons. Accordingly, drinks were quite a bit tougher 150 years ago as well. (None of this Smirnoff Ice nonsense.) Consider, then, the Old Fashioned—one of the earliest cocktails to be called such.

Any bar in America can mix you up a decent Old Fashioned, more or less. Properly made, it tastes like whiskey with a few other strictly decorative flavors and aromas on the side. It was once frequently made with brandy as well, and I dare say it makes a finer drink. Don’t bother ordering one, though, as the bartender will likely murder it. People seem to have a bit of trouble with brandy these days, so allow me a brief brandy-related digression.

Brandy is an aged, distilled spirit made from grape wine, and I dearly hope you already knew that. Folks have been distilling wine for approximately a thousand years now, and some sources will tell you that brandy is nearly as old as distillation itself. At any rate, it was one of the more useful results of man’s quest to extend the longevity of wine, a connection evident in the etymology of the word: “brandy” is an anglicized corruption of the Dutch word brandewijn, which literally means “burnt wine.”

At any rate, brandy was one of the most popular spirituous liquors in the western world before it was unseated by rum and whiskey in the 1700s. Its downward spiral accelerated rapidly in the late 19th century when France, a leading brandy supplier, was devastated by a phylloxera epidemic, which decimated much of the country’s grapevines. The supply of wine and brandy dwindled, and the French migrated to absinthe instead. Meanwhile, way across the big drink, brandy started disappearing from American drinking culture, and whiskey puffed up its chest and took up the slack.

Incidentally, this is why the Old Fashioned is currently, by default, a whiskey cocktail. Nevertheless, the recipe is pre-phylloxera, and thus can also be made with brandy or gin (Holland’s or Old Tom only, not London dry). According to my own preferences, I’ll be focusing on the brandy variant from here on out.

An Old Fashioned is nothing more than a recreation of the original, seminal cocktail, which comprised only a measure of spirits, water, sugar, and bitters. If you want to get technical, you can’t call a drink a cocktail unless it contains those four core elements. Feel free to stretch it a bit—gomme syrup for sugar, ice for water, et cetera. Apparently some folks were getting curmudgeony about the direction in which the cocktail was headed, and wanted to do things the old-fashioned way; namely, a drink containing those four elements listed above, and maybe a little garnish or two. (In the true spirit of the drink, I omit the garnish. Frivolous dandyism, if you ask me.)

Today’s Old Fashioned is largely faithful to the original, at least if you want it with whiskey. But a Brandy Old Fashioned? Good luck, mate. I’m told it’s still popular in the Great Lakes region—Wisconsin in particular—but I live in Michigan, the Great Lakest of all the Great Lakes states, and even here most bars won’t mix you a Brandy Old Fashioned worth tippling. I can’t recall if I’ve ever been to Wisconsin (I suspect that I have not), but having seen the typical Wisconsin recipe, I can tell you that it’s no closer to the original than whatever the hell it is that all these well-meaning Michiganders are serving me.

So if you want to be a pedantic ass like me, you should learn how to mix a proper Brandy Old Fashioned. Start with an old-fashioned glass, and then take a moment to consider that you’re finally using it for its intended purpose. You didn’t honestly think that name was a coincidence, did you?

Next, drop about a teaspoon of sugar into the glass, and then just enough water to dissolve the sugar. Add a few dashes of bitters. Angostura is historically accurate—lucky for us, since it’s the only brand of aromatic bitters widely available in supermarkets—but Peychaud’s will work nicely as well.

For the brandy, try using a modest (and inexpensive) French product like Raynal or St. Remy. To be perfectly honest, it’ll taste just fine with something cheap and domestic like Christian Brothers or Paul Masson, too. Refinement isn’t the point here, even if original recipes called for fine Cognac, which in those days wasn’t nearly as expensive.

Anyway, add a measure of brandy (recipes vary regarding how much—about two, two and a half shots is a good place to start) and some ice cubes, then give it a stir. I don’t put too much stock in proportions for this one. I have a heavy pouring hand and tend to apply a bit of English when doling out the bitters, but it’s no exact science. Feel free to exercise some poetic license. Garnish it if you want, but be careful. I’ve seen bartenders try and cram an entire produce aisle in there, and that misses the point of the drink entirely. Lemon and orange peels are historically acceptable options, but that’s a waste of fruit if you ask me. I might drop in a maraschino cherry if I’m feeling anachronistic and saucy.

Nowadays, some folks like to top it off with a bit of soda water or 7-Up. Don’t do that. If you need your liquor that watered down, this drink isn’t for you. Instead, you might try returning to the 1980s and ordering a wine spritzer.

And there you have it. Nothing simpler.

As you toss back your Old Fashioned, consider those Victorian saloon-goers. Maybe they lived through the Civil War, where they saw the country of their youth torn violently asunder. Not even the drinks are as they remember. Imagine their frustration when, after ordering a cocktail, the bartender serves them something all mucked up with dashes of absinthe, layers of Curaçao, frivolous garnishes, and all manner of newfangled tweaks and fixes.

In this dark age of “hard” cider and wine coolers, of simulacra and bureaucracy, I understand their frustration.

The Peaches of Wrath

Mike Gibson

What Michigan's economy has done to my childhood home...seriously.

Like many Michiganders, I’ll soon be packing my bags and strolling off to greener pastures. I’d rather stick around, rather not uproot myself from my family and home, but Michigan’s dishrag economy has given me little choice in the matter. It’s an epidemic problem, and it’s hitting my generation of twenty-somethings the hardest. Anyone living in an abysmal factory town knows that you can get more mileage out of a college diploma by using it for rolling papers than by using it to actually find a job. Around here, reliable employment is purely mythical, something you might read about in a medieval bestiary in between accounts of manticores and basilisks.

And like most societal problems, this one can be found succinctly expressed on a popular bumper sticker: MICHIGAN: LAST ONE OUT TURN OFF THE LIGHTS. This is typical bumper-sticker hyperbole, of course, because the power companies will certainly bail out of Michigan long before the last of their customers will.

A popular destination for all these Great Lakes expats seems to be Atlanta. I can’t imagine why. I assume most folks simply loaded up the minivan and hit the road Tom Joad-style, cruising arbitrarily south down I-75 until stumbling upon Atlanta entirely by accident. Maybe they just ran out of gas or money and couldn’t make it all the way to Florida.

If you ask someone to describe Atlanta, they’ll likely tell you that it’s pretty big and then change the subject. Not because they’re trying to avoid the topic, mind you, but because that’s really all there is to say. Ever since the Civil War, Atlanta has been continually razing and renewing itself at the expense of any unifying identity. It lacks the je ne sais quoi that gives places like New Orleans and Chicago such character. Drive through downtown and you’ll see dozens of monolithic skyscrapers towering pointlessly over the city, all of them sleek and modern, but not quite sleek and modern enough that you’ll remember the skyline after it disappears from your rearview mirror. Sure is big, though.

One can’t help but get the impression,

I can almost smell the peach cobbler.

when driving through, that Atlanta is just another also-ran metropolis, a city where every park, fountain, statue, and museum were created simply to keep pace with places like Dallas or Phoenix, which suggests a sort of “me too!” approach to urban renewal.

But perhaps I’m being unfair. I find most large cities superficial and frivolous, and their citizens equally so. If you live in such a place (and are still impressed by bright lights and tall things), your life is probably a contest: the nightlife in X-opolis is better than that of Y-opolis, Z-opolis has better-looking women than either, A-opolis has better food, B-opolis has a prettier skyline, and your city is better than all of them. It’s not unlike a group of young boys arguing over who’s oldest, who’s tallest, or who has the most Star Wars action figures, except that we’re expected to outgrow those things. Such posturing is rather ill-tailored for adults, and I can only assume that those who engage in it are trying to rationalize the fact that they pay two-thousand dollars a month to live in an apartment the size of a broom closet. And all these major cities exploit that attitude by pouring millions of dollars into revitalization projects that look good in travel guides but have no redeeming social value.

For all its superficial efforts to keep up, though, Atlanta never tries to convince you of its own greatness. This earnestness, this unpretentiousness, is the city’s crowning irony, and also its chief blessing. As a result, Atlanta is hard to stereotype or pigeonhole. Of course, that’s not to say Atlantans aren’t proud of their city’s history or attractions. Quite the contrary; as soon as you step into town, you’ll be relentlessly hounded by advertising that insists you visit the city’s many tourist spots, including Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, Ted Turner, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta Underground, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. (I understand they also have sports teams, but that may be a rumor.)

Once you’ve exhausted these possibilities, there’s not much else to do stand about and talk. Perhaps it’s this sense of boredom that makes locals so sociable and friendly. Spend enough time there and maybe you won’t even mind the crowds.

I first visited about three years ago. Even though I’d planned my trip well ahead of time, it was still mostly accidental. I came to Atlanta with little money, no hotel reservations, no map, and not much of anything but a change of clothes and a toothbrush. I had to depend entirely on the hospitality and mercy of strangers for food and shelter. In any of Michigan’s violent third-world piss-gutter cities, this would likely have gotten me killed, battered, or worse. 

At any rate, I’d grown rather fond of Atlanta by the time I left. Perhaps not with the city itself—such large metropolises are interchangeable—but with the people. Despite the nightmarish traffic and unthinkable crowds, it’s easy to get sucked into the milieu and feel at home there. Even if the locals call you a “Yankee invader” when your back is turned.

So I’m going to live there, at least until Michigan ceases to be a Steinbeck novel. It’s as good a place as any to ride out this economic storm, and despite its many flaws, it’s still nicer than Detroit. Maybe that should be the city slogan: ATLANTA: IT’S NOT DETROIT. SURE IS BIG, TOO. I think I have an idea for a bumper sticker.

The Audacity of Hops

When did the first wheel fall off the healthcare bus?

When a self-important Harvard Professor met a self-important Cambridge police officer.

I love talking and writing about race relations. I believe that the more we study the topic the more equipped we are at dealing with it. But this is not a topic of race. This is a topic of self-importance and arrogance. The Harvard prof views himself as too important, too revered to be treated like a common crook – when his actions said otherwise. The officer feels the same because he spends his days and nights protecting ungrateful citizens from common crooks. The officer is self-righteous and arrogant because his profession requires it for survival. The professor is self-righteous and arrogant because his profession requires it for advancement. It is not always an issue of race when a black man is arrested by a white officer. Crowley is not a racist. He gave dying Boston Celtic Reggie Lewis mouth-to-mouth when Lewis, who happened to be black, collapsed and died on a court in Boston. For Professor Gates to claim racial profiling as he was breaking into a million-dollar Cambridge home that he happened to own is careless and reeks of the same vanity that he claims Crowley was displaying. Black police officers stood with Crowley and white Harvard profs stood with Gates because this was not an issue of race. Indeed, this was barely an issue at all.

And, finally, the pièce de résistance: Barack Obama decides to fuel the fire by calling the entire Cambridge police force stupid. My head fell into my hands as I watched these stupid words escape his mouth. He was making an issue of a non-issue. A man breaks into a house and the police went over and above the call of duty. Leave it at that. It was nothing more than a series of unfortunate events. What’s worse is that now Gates’ community is the best neighborhood in America to burglarize; who in that neighborhood is going to call the cops now? Then, to add to the lunacy, Obama has both men over for a beer. Genius! Let’s add alcohol to an already volatile situation. As a country we watched and waited with feigned alacrity until the weird beer meeting ended.

While Obama’s actions were sophomoric, that’s not what really upset me. What upset me was that Obama’s normally accurate foresight was blinded by his desire to come to the aid of his buddy Gates. As he was selling the country on his new and very needed healthcare reform he decided to tackle this non-issue. He diverted attention from healthcare to race and beer. By transmogrifying the issue of healthcare into Crowley-Gates-gate he diminished and tarnished the health care issue. All the steam he had was now quelled, so much so that healthcare reform is now pushed to the next session of congress. We as a country have too much to fix and accomplish for you to personally deal with a tête-à-tête between your friend and a cop doing his job.

Bits of Tid

Lou Dobbs’s act has become tired. He is old and irrelevant. His tirades against Mexico and Mexican immigrants became so insidious that the CNN brass had to rein him in. He then moved to China (not literally, though that would have made me happy). He attacks and attacks, foaming at the mouth as the next hate-filled idea ferments in his head. He is what is wrong with the news media. We have the ideologues in Olbermann and O’Reilly, the extremists in Limbaugh and Maher, but what about the unbiased middle? Dobbs claims he is exactly that, except he spends 70% of his air time requesting Obama’s birth certificate. Obama has released his birth certificate, but not the long version that Dobbs is looking for. He believes that questioning Obama’s citizenship is the most important news story in the world, apparently.

Has he even watched CNN? Is he not aware of all the other more pressing and realistic issues going on? Dissect Obama’s views, his policies, his stance on abortion. Do something that is worthy of your position as journalistic arbiter. Some claim that our society has become jaded and disinterested in relevant news, which may certainly be valid, but even the most devoted news junkies would be turned off by the frivolous crap that our “news” organizations churn out. If Walter Cronkite was the embodiment of “journalistic integrity” and “unbiased reporting,” then Lou Dobbs is the diametric opposite, a roadblock diverting viewers from accessing any relevant insight into current events.

Using the nom de guerre Adam Tait, a 17-year-old autistic boy from Yorkshire, England convinced airline execs that he was a multimillionaire airline tycoon in his twenties with a fleet of jets and a team of associates. His shockingly accurate memory of every arrival and departure at all the major airports in the U.S. and U.K. gave credence to his claims. The 17-year-old not only played the part of Tait, but also fellow execs David Rich and Anita Dash; great fake names by the way. British aviation executives wanted to form a partnership with Tait geared towards servicing most of Europe with his low-cost/high-quality fleet of jets. Airliner World finally figured out the ruse and contacted police when the 17-year-old was looking over the 93-seater jet he was in the process of leasing. The police are not pressing charges and Tait’s real name is not being released. I am extremely pleased that he is not getting into any serious trouble, but I am hoping that somehow his incredible skills are harnessed for the greater good. He could take over for another conman like the U.S. car czar and actually help the dying industry. Better yet, he could become the Detroit Lion’s GM, tricking good players to move to Detroit. Or he could take over for Lou Dobbs on CNN. The possibilities are endless for this kid. He could accomplish so much more than the ephemeral success he earned with this prank, but he’ll probably just end up in an Oasis cover band regaling groupies with tales about the time he took over the airline industry.

Do we really need all the legal posturing that is for sure to come with Philip and Nancy Garrido trial? I am torn on the morality of the death penalty. A murderer sentenced to death is not the only murderer in that court room. It is easy to go on and on about the morality of the death penalty when you are so far removed from the subject matter that it appears blurry. That being said, I would completely support the death penalty if someone close to me were victimized. Admittedly, my stance has a hypocritical hue. However, there are some cases so horrific that no amount of separation could ever arouse compassion. There are some cases that should immediately supersede a state’s standing on the death penalty. Philip and Nancy Garrido shouldn’t be allowed to spend a night in jail. They should be put to rest before I can summon enough anger to write this 201-word paragraph. Who would be against this? I don’t want these people interviewed. I don’t want any television specials about their motives or their lives. I want justice for the victim and her family. I don’t think that is too much to ask.

Cash for Clunkers is a better version of the Bush rebate checks. The Bush checks were cut with the hope that people would spend them on goods and services leading to a stimulated economy. That stimulation would then raise consumer confidence in the market and the economic torpor we were stuck in would slowly disappear. The problem was that the checks were either saved by the recipients because of the lack of market confidence or spent to pay off existing debt. In other words, zero stimulation. The Cash for Clunkers program is the upgraded version of Bush’s rebate checks. It was a resounding success in Germany, and if we learned anything from Vince Offer (of ShamWow fame); it’s that the Germans are pretty innovative. People had the opportunity to cash in as much as $4,500 dollars towards a purchase of a new car. This money can only be used towards a good – a new car. This stimulus program picks up where Bush’s failed. The money is geared to stimulate the struggling automakers by providing financial incentives for new car purchasers and in turn improving the current state of the economy. Regardless of your position on government attempts to stimulate the economy, the juxtaposition of the Cash for Clunkers program and the tax rebates shows the hypocrisy of our government. Republicans that currently bemoan the program praised the Bush rebates, even though the only difference was the party affiliation of the head honcho. The Dems did the same thing, except in reverse. They support Obama’s plan but derided Bush’s. If we look behind the curtain a bit we can see that not many political officials actually officiate, they just politic.

Emerging Markets

Anastasiia Rykunich

How can a U.S. economy slumped in a recession be salvaged?  How can investors gain proximity to bigger target markets, a lower waged workforce, and low cost raw goods?  How can investors reduce risk by diversification of funds?  How can investors gain access to a world with lower environmental regulation thresholds?  How can an investor exploit the rule of reciprocity leading to political incentives like lower tax rates, subsidies, and grants? 

By investing in emerging markets!  Savvy investors will be able to use the free flow of capital across international borders to seek out and earn the highest rate of return. 

The World Bank lists an emerging market as a country having low to middle income levels per person, or, as being a country with an underdeveloped stock market.  Emerging market countries produce around 20% of the world’s goods and services and represent over 80% of the world’s population. More than two-thirds of global growth is occurring in the countries of these emerging markets. These countries also account for a rising share of world trade.

The following countries are considered to be the emerging markets offering appealing low-cost environments: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Middle East, and parts of Africa.  According to the Forbes International Investment Report, a $10,000 investment in these emerging markets in 1999 would be worth more than $18,000 today, even after the terrible crash in many of these markets last year. That same investment in the U.S. would have dwindled to $6,500. This troubling investment market has not changed as the outlook for U.S. stocks and the U.S. dollar aren’t much better today.

Establishing joint ventures and partnerships in economically emerging regions like Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America is one of the most promising ways for a company to create revenue streams. That’s because, by outsourcing goods in the local market, a company can compete more effectively and expand its business. Additionally, low-cost country manufacturing can yield reduced costs for a company’s global factory network as well. In fact, a company outsourcing materials or products from a low-cost region can improve its bottom line by reducing its purchase price up to 40 percent.  At the same time, forming joint ventures helps to reduce the costs of dealing with local governments, since the local producer knows the rules of the local game.

However, there is always a risk of technologic and business spillover that foreign producers can obtain. In order to prevent that potential threat a parent company should ensure that key contributors to its competitive advantages are not wholly disclosed to the foreign partner. For example Coca-Cola presents its formula as a closely held trade secret known to only a few employees, mostly executives. 

Sensible tax policies are an attractive feature of many emerging markets. The highest tax rate in Brazil is just 27.5%. Flat-tax structures have become the norm in places like Russia, the Czech Republic, and numerous other countries that were once behind the Iron Curtain.  Dynamic Asian markets like Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan have long since done away with capital gains taxes.

One industry example is Brazil’s Net Servicos (NETC – news – people), the country’s largest cable TV and broadband Internet provider. Despite Brazil’s economic growth, only 10% of its 199 million citizens have access to these services. As disposable incomes rise, cable and broadband penetration rates will rise over time. Emerging-market telecom companies like Turkey’s Turk Cell ( TKC – news – people ), Mobile Tele Systems ( MBT – news – people ) in Russia, and China Mobile ( CHL – news – people ) are all direct plays on increased consumer cell phone service spending. Once an unaffordable luxury in emerging markets, mobile devices are fast becoming the primary means of communications for millions of consumers.

Developed countries are already benefiting from these emerging markets. German investments abroad, specifically by the automotive and chemical industries, have flourished by moving production out of the country. Both cars and chemicals have seen continuous growth abroad since 1994 and the profits have boosted the bottom lines of German-based companies as a result.

Japanese investors are using their unusually strong yen to buy high yielding/high growth emerging market currencies, emerging market stocks, and emerging market bonds.  With government support, French nuclear energy (Areva) and aerospace (EADS (Airbus)) giants are investing in joint ventures with China, Eastern Europe, and The Middle East.

Emerging markets still have a lot of room to improve in key areas like corporate governance, transparency, quality of management and entrepreneurship.  However, the future has never been brighter for the emerging-market businesses and there are plenty of ways to invest and take advantage of this growth.

Lessons on Leadership from Honest Abe

Jordan Summers

For the past few months Doris Kearns Goodwin’s meticulous record of our nation’s 16^th President’s journey from the circuit court in Illinois to the fateful night of April 14^th, 1865, has served as a supplement to my studies at the DeVos Graduate School of Management. As I absorbed Goodwin’s Team of Rivals I have found a number of great lessons which can be broadly applied to the subject of leadership. 

It was reported that in the time leading up to his inauguration President Obama consumed Team of Rivals as he contemplated the construction of his cabinet.  Lincoln’s decision to build a cabinet filled with professional rivals, some of whom came to Washington with their own personal agendas and others still reeling from his shocking nomination and subsequent election which had squelched their own ambition for the Executive Office, is the central theme of the book.  However, it does a great disservice to Goodwin’s extensive work as well as to Lincoln’s life to ignore the many other lessons that can be drawn from the book.

Timing is an often overlooked element of leadership. Lincoln was able to use his ability to read the pulse of an entire nation to allow him to optimally time some of his most important actions.  Nowhere is this more evident that in his timing of the Emancipation Proclamation.  In Goodwin’s account, it is clear that if Lincoln had given into the pressures of abolitionists and members of his cabinet, and made his intention to emancipate slaves too early on in the war, public support for the war efforts would have waned.  However, if Lincoln had waited too long, the boost in support provided by the proclamation, as well as the ability to recruit black soldiers, would not have come soon enough to turn the tide in the war.  The issue of timing is particularly important in the context of the present-day; as leaders face the challenge of maintaining functioning organizations, communities etc., in the face of necessary layoffs, budget cuts, etc.

While the economic and societal challenges that leaders face today are significant, many of these challenges seem much more manageable in comparison to the life and times of Abe Lincoln.  From an early age Lincoln became accustomed to struggle and pain.  By the age of seven Lincoln had already experienced tumult as his family became impoverished, and at the age of nine Lincoln became accustomed to tragedy with the death of his young mother.  Young Lincoln dealt with these challenges with a humor and resolve that would prove vital to his existence further in his career.  Through failed political campaigns and professional pursuits Lincoln maintained his steady and relentless pursuit of his goals.  For example, in 1855 Lincoln was hired by a prominent attorney from Pittsburgh to help represent the defendant in a patent case which had generated national attention.  Hired for his low hourly rate and his connections in the Illinois’ legal community Lincoln saw the case as a tremendous opportunity for career advancement.  However, when the case was moved to Cincinnati, Lincoln was frozen out of the case after months of extensive work by the lead attorney Edwin Stanton.  After experiencing an understandable level of disappointment, the Reaper Trial served to further solidify Lincoln’s resolve to achieve professional growth.  As a testament to Lincoln’s ability to put aside personal gripes, Stanton would later become Lincoln’s Secretary of War, and one of his most trusted companions.

The most gripping example of Lincoln’s toughness and resolve came in the midst of the Civil War, when his young son died.  While his wife was stricken with uncontrollable grief, Lincoln was forced to reserve his grief for the few private moments he had.  Beyond the loss of his son, Lincoln was faced with the overwhelming challenge of overseeing the bloodiest war in our nation’s history.  Through it all he was able to look beyond his earthly suffering as he led the nation through its most trying times.

After reading Team of Rivals I would ultimately say that what I see as the single most important element of Lincoln’s leadership is his commitment to the anti-slavery cause.  For what truly drives an effective leader is purpose.  As Goodwin states in regards to Lincoln’s commitment to the anti-slavery movement – “Once he committed himself… (Lincoln) demonstrated a singular tenacity and authenticity of feeling.  Ambition and conviction (were) united…”  Lincoln set his mind on an objective and used his God-given gifts which were honed through the fires of life to change the course of our nation’s history.

The Sporting Blues

Esham Aluzé

I spend the majority of my days purposely ignoring the world of NASCAR; but then I pass a guy wearing a bedazzled, Tide promoting, Jeff Gordon jacket and it hits me like…like a race care slamming into a concrete wall.  What hits me you ask; my disgust with that non-sport.  

In this era of stringent fiscal responsibility, NASCAR seems like the most wasteful activity in existence.  A barrel of gas costs upwards of $72 and the strain at the pump is felt in every wallet across the country.  We are trying to diminish our dependence on foreign oil while trying to maintain a surplus.  So why does NASCAR exist?  It is nothing but a monumental waste of gas.  This has nothing to do with my disdain for the sport; this has to do with my heightened sense of fiscal responsibility, my attempt to salvage ourselves from this energy crisis.  NASCAR is frivolously wasting oil, the one thing we cannot afford to waste.  This is like professional hunters competing for Bald Eagle kills.  This is like loggers destroying rain forests so some ungrateful trust-fund baby can erect a privacy fence. Oil is now endangered, and NASCAR is nothing but a race. Not even to the finish, either, but a race to see who can burn the most gas.

Excuse me while I get down from this soapbox.     

Allow myself to introduce myself, I am Esham and this is The Method’s sports column.
I have no deeply held sports team allegiances.  When I was young we moved around a lot, so I never had the opportunity to create a lasting bond with a sports franchise. New Englanders love the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics because they’ve been inundated with those teams throughout their formative years. That was not the case for me. So instead of following specific teams I fell in love with players and followed their respective teams.

A majority of “real men” seem to scoff at my fan-freelancing. You know the type – the tough, wing-eating, beer-drinking, Ed Hardy t-shirt-wearing, Fred Durst-loving men. Eh, so what.  I do me and you do you. 
Right now, I like the Patriots. I love Brady, Belichick, even Robert Kraft. In basketball I root for point guards, so it’s Nash, Rubio, or Rose.  I like Ginobli, but hate the Spurs.  In hockey, well, I don’t actually watch enough hockey to know what’s going on, but just for kicks I root for the Red Wings.  Why the Red Wings? Because Red Bull is the official The Method drink, and it gives you wings, and those wings are probably red, ergo Detroit Red Wings. 

To close my opening salvo I would like to relay some of my deeply held beliefs:  I want Michael Vick to be good again.  I think killing a human being precludes you from playing professional sports, i.e. Leonard Little and newly minted murderer Donte Stallworth.  I think Pacman Jones should be sent to Guantanamo Bay.  I think the WNBA is the longest-running practical joke in the history of pranks.  I love boxing, but it’s dying and MMA is digging its grave.  Speaking of MMA, don’t think you’re an ultimate fighter just because you decided to pony up fifty bucks for a TapOut shirt; because you’re not. I think I can fix the MLS, but we’ll talk about this later.  I love the NFL, but hate fantasy football.  College athletes should be paid, and if you disagree you’re prejudiced, but we’ll talk about this later.  I think Andy Dick and Kathy Griffin are the same person, although this may not be sports-related –I think.  Finally, I am generally the smartest person in most empty rooms.

Gone Fishin’

Esham Aluzé

It’s a wonderful day outside, so I thought, “Hey, why don’t I lug my laptop into the backyard and tan while I type.” As it turns out this idea is as bad as naming Chris Brown the next Bachelor on ABC. 

A June bug jus* landed on my keyboard, on a specific le**er and I am *oo afraid of i* to do any*hing. I *hink June bugs have a clock *ha* rings a* midnigh* during *he firs* of June, because *hey are *he mos* punc*ual bug in the world. May 31s*, no June Bugs. June 1s*, a million of *hem. 

Okay, now that it’s gone, I can finally use my “T” key again instead of that ridiculous asterisk.  Thank God summer’s almost over.
 
I think that fishing skills and Internet skills are mutually exclusive. See, I went fishing for the first time in my life the other day and caught a grand total of zero fishies.

So as soon as I got home I Googled “how do I catch fishies?” after Google rudely corrected my sentence- Did you mean: How do I catch fish? – I made some fishing inroads.  I found some articles that used typical fishing lexicon, which was Greek to me. So I tried to YouTube some fish videos and found the sorriest lot of self-help videos in existence. Half of them were ads enticing me to buy the actual videos and the others were filmed in 1985 and had the graininess of a Paris Hilton video. 

I have come to the conclusion that good fishermen are not very computer savvy. There, I said it.  So I asked a close Red friend to train me (because all red-heads can fish…all of them), and he obliged.  We worked on my wrist dexterity to increase casting distance and bicep exercises so I can reel in all the dolphins and manatees I plan on catching.  I was drinking the official The Method drink, Red Bull, and as my Red trainer offered me some smokeless tobacco I made another landmark discovery.   

Specifically, dipping and drinking Red Bull at the same time is not amazing. In fact, it is the opposite of amazing.  You’re up and down but never in the middle.  It’s like riding a roller coaster underground.  I had no idea what anguish I had unleashed upon my body by this newly formed axis of evil, Kodiak and Red Bull.  Heed my warning, friends, and avoid this deadly combination.  I feel like Dr. Wilbrand (Google him) warning the world about TNT. (Not the television channel, although that too should probably come with some kind of warning. Caution: Law and Order is on all the time.)

In due time I will be starring on the Bass Fisherman’s Tour, catching and eating the most succulent trout (that’s a fish, right?) anyone has ever laid eyes on.  But until then; don’t mix Red Bull and Kodiak; and watch out for June bugs.