Morning Briefing
For December 10, 2012
1. Jamie’s Recovery
Many of you know Haystack, a long time contributor here at RedState. A while back he moved up to New England to be closer to family.
His son Jamie was in a horrendous car accident recently and needs some extra financial help at this time of year. Many of us on the front page have contributed. RedState readers have been so generous in the past about these situations. I hope you will consider going to the website Jamie’s Recovery and giving what you can. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
2. GOP Classic
Growing up in the South means that you were raised on Coca-Cola. We don’t just call Coke, “Coke,” we call every soda made “Coke.” We believe Coke tastes better in a glass bottle than it does in a can. Every true Southerner has tried the unique concoction of drinking Coke with peanuts (in the bottle). We love Coca-Cola.
However, in the early 1980’s, Pepsi starting outselling Coke. After a few years of hand wringing and worry, on April 23, 1985, the Coca Cola Company—and this is still emotionally straining as I write this–abandoned its century old formula and introduced—sigh—“New Coke.” Oh sure, the consultants said it would be a great idea. The experts believed Coke needed to make a change to compete with Pepsi. Even the polling of focus groups told Coke executives that America would overwhelmingly prefer that new, sweeter mixture. It flopped.
The public outcry was immediate. Protests were organized. Op-ed pieces were written. Hundreds of thousands of angry calls were received by the company. One former Coke executive told me that the new formula “was the best worst decision an American company had made.” The experts, consultants and polling were shockingly wrong. Less than three months after New Coke’s introduction, the company announced the return of the original nectar of the gods in July 1985. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
3. Michigan Madness: Thousands Plan To Lay Siege On State Capitol On Tuesday Over Right-To-Work
On Tuesday, unions, left-wing radicals and their allies are planning to lay siege to Michigan’s state capitol on Tuesday to protest the state lawmakers’ move to give workers the right to work for unionized companies without being compelled to pay union fees or be fired.
On a Facebook page dedicated to a “Day of Action” on Tuesday, as of Sunday night, over 2,400 activists have pledged to show up to protest. That number is expected to grow by Tuesday. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
4. Selling Conservatism And Why Benefits Beat Features
If you’ve ever been involved in sales of any type, from selling a product to applying for a job to dating, you know that selling benefits is superior to selling features to all but a very small audience. People, whether they are customers, employers, or a love interest are more interested in what the product does for them than in what it has. You may compare yourself or your product to your competitors in terms of features but those features are only useful to the extent that they provide the customer with a benefit. The next time you see a supermodel accompanied by a hunchback dwarf, think benefits not features. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
4. Is There a Carbon Tax in Your Future?
Folk wisdom tells us, “Where there’s smoke, there’s carbon emissions.” And where there are carbon emissions, there are internationalists hell-bent on hobbling the American economy in the name of Global Warming. Several recent signs:
- In 2010, the Treasury Department commissioned a National Academy of Science study of the best ways to “green” the tax code. The report was originally due in September, but an extension has been granted until early 2013.
- International banking and financial services giant HSBC Holdings Plc expects the Obama Administration to implement a $20/ton carbon tax (plus 6% per year increase) in its second term, to serve as “revenue enhancement” and as a replacement for the ill-fated Cap-and-Trade scheme.
- The Treasury Department’s Office of Environment and Energy has given the Heisman treatment to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Competitive Enterprise Institute for its emails and economic analysis relative to carbon tax proposals. CEI has filed suit in an effort to compel disclosure.
- Last but not least, the idea of a carbon tax has been embraced by the unlikeliest suspects: ExxonMobil, BP and Shell. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
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