Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

When Government Regulations Go Wild

Don't get me wrong. The rulings that have created access for millions of this nation's disabled are a good thing.

But, this heavy handed approach to installing permanent lifts in the nation's pools is just so wrong. Thankfully, another reprieve has been issued...but, is this just another stay? Or, will the government realize that its totalitarian approach simply doesn't play.

It's one thing to demand access for all...but another to demand access when that access denies access to others. For, there is no way that thousands of pools across this country will be able to meet these new government regulations. And, thus...these pools will close. To everyone.

Pools that provide access to hundreds of people each day...but will be forced to close because a handful of people are unable to use the pool in its present configuration? And this makes sense how?

I don't pretend to know what it feels like to be disabled and not able to access a swimming pool.

But, I do know this. I'd never want my government to deny access to a pool for all my friends just because I couldn't.

How has it come to this?

 

It's Called Hubris

Really. The shit that comes out of some politicians' mouths. They can't be that stupid, can they?

Well, not stupid...'cause they managed to figure out how to get elected. Maybe the word I'm looking for is "unsophisticated."

And, next to that word in the Zeitgeist Dictionary would be a picture of the Carbondale IL City Council, which, last night, ended its longstanding investment in its Destination Marketing Organization on a 6-1 vote.

Not just cut the budget...eliminated it. And, then clucked about how the Bureau's website is "useless" (from our trained eye in Destination Marketing, it's far from) and "we won't miss a beat" because they are a University town.

That sound you just heard was me spitting out my Diet Pepsi as I tried to supress a laugh. Because, you see, the Carbondale City Council is too unsophisticated to understand that there are several case studies out there that conclusively prove just the opposite. Without a DMO, communities lose way more than a beat. They lose jobs, visitor generated taxes and businesses.

The City says it plans to contract with a third-party to handle destination marketing over the next few months (leaving the all important summer season for this university town to chance...and forfeiting tens of thousands of dollars in Illinois Tourism Grant funds, possibly for years until a new DMO is certified by the State).

On second thought, I was right the first time. It's more than unsophisticated.

It IS stupid.

Like They Said

First there was "Rock the Vote." Then, well...I don't remember.

But, I can't recall a PSA more compelling than BET's "Vote" spot.

Dead on...and less than 600 YouTube views since February?

Sigh.

Thanks, Anyway

While we'd all like to think it was because members of the Senate are smarter than those in the House that had recently eliminated funding for the fledgling Brand USA effort (you can see their inaugural video and song here)...we know the Senate's rejection of the proposed Federal Budget was for partisan reasons.

But, thanks anyway, guys.

And, to the Tourism Industry...if House Republicans could flip this fast, we've got a lot more work to do.

Give Them All Somewhere to Go

Those were the words of Tom Petty in his 1987 song 'Jammin' Me."

Appropriate, as a Congress of Baboons (look it up, that's what a group of Baboons is called) come slobbering back to to DC to feast on the carcass of the GSA Convention "scandal."

And, as much as I have decried the blurring of the lines between "news" and "opinion," I had to laugh at this quote from a story by Rachel Rose Hartman on The Ticket:

"Members of Congress are eager for the opportunity to stand up to government waste and abuse, perform their due diligence on the scandal and potentially position themselves to do something beyond the hearing."

Yeah...it has nothing to do with outrage and everything to do with looking good back home.

But, the GSA affair offers up another opportunity for the meetings industry (and, sadly, Las Vegas) to once again be pilloried by our government, the media and Joe and Jill Public (who are just jealous they don't get those kind of perks).

Am I defending the GSA's actions? Of course not. Over the top, in your face arrogance (which is actually kinda funny after the President blasted Vegas conventions held during the previous administration's watch). And, eight GSA managers have been fired or resigned.

OK, folks. Story's over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

But...here's a parting thought. The $830,000 spent in GSA gluttony probably created and/or supported more jobs than a similar amount of stimulus money ever did.

So, my friends outside the hospitality industry...be careful who and what you chastise. The end result may be that government employees who do a really good job at GSA decided to stay because this was a great annual perk.

And, a bunch of private sector folk got paid for working during the recession.

I may not like they way it was done...but the result may have been worth it.

 

The Olympics: Yin and Yang

For the past few decades of Olympic celebrations, the conversation has been a yin and yang. The Atlanta Games firmy positioned that city as an international destination. Vancouver's Games positioned an entire country.

But the Games in Athens and Montreal were reported to not be the economic boon that had been promised.

Today, some in London are wondering whether this was a good idea. Theatre owners are convinced their seats will be empty during their prime season. Companies are stressing over lost productivity when employees can't get to work because of increased traffic.

At the same time, construction trades are rocking...building the infrastructure required for the games at a time when the Bristish economy could certainly benefit from the infusion of cash.

It all comes down to whether the host city is already an attraction. London clearly is...and stands to lose the visitors that will now elect to go elsewhere to avoid the Olympic crowds. So...in terms of visitor spending, this Olympics could be a wash.

But, that's not taking into consideration the long term advantages seen in communities like Barcelona, where the Olympic Village has transformed a once shabby section of town into a vibrant community.

Will London benefit from the Olympics? Yes...in ways that may be difficult to measure. But, if they can score the kind of world-wide TV coverage that Vancouver garnered?

Hell yes.

More Pigs Aloft

A few months ago, we reported seeing flocks of pigs flying across this country as President Obama issued an Executive Order to establish Tourism as a priority for the Commerce Department to pursue.

Along with the sandhill cranes flying over Nebraska last week, I do believe there were some pigs spotted aloft as well. The Governors of three States (Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas) were holed up together in a shack on the Platte River to watch the annual migration of the crane...and talk about how they could cooperate on attracting visitors to their States.

Readers of this screed know how I feel about the partisan politics that has turned serving one's community or State as an elected official from a noble endeavor to a despicable waste of time and talent. And, if these Governors were from the same political party, I wouldn't be quite so impressed.

But...they're not.

A President that was once dismissive of the Tourism Industry that today is one of its champions? Governors from opposing parties and competitive States getting together to talk about possible ways to collaborate? It brings to mind the words of Bill Murray in the first "Ghostbusters": "Dogs and Cats Living Together...Mass Hysteria!"

Is it possible that the light at the end of the tunnel I see isn't another train.

Or were the Mayan's right and it doesn't really matter?

Like He Said

Yesterday afternoon, I walked through doors that hadn't seen my shadow in almost 17 years. Doors that saw me a lot in the five years previous.

I'd heard a lot about the City of Madison's plans for what is being called Judge Doyle Square, a two block area between the Capitol and Lake Monona. It's pretty much a dead zone today...but, if the City Council has the vision and political will that their predecessors did 20 years ago? Another game changer for Madison.

So, I attended the informational hearing and watched my old friend George Austin tick through the plan. Inspired. Needed. Smartly designed. And I thought about the line that "all politics is local."

While I know that they don't agree on much, I watched my Council digest the presentation, ask (mostly) thoughtful questions...and even applaud at the conclusion. And, I was transported back to those days 20 some years ago when I went head to head with some of my Alders.

Bert, Andy and Joe were my thorns...and through it all, they were my friends. They made me better. We shared laughs outside Council Chambers. I never wished them ill (well, OK...maybe the flu on nights of an important vote).

I remember Bert and I leaving a sub-committee meeting the evening after the Council voted at 3am, back in 1994, to ban smoking in restaurants. We joked that our wives were both on the opposite side of their sparing spouses on the issue and vowed that we four needed to do dinner some time. Sadly, I never followed through.

Despite it all, we all understood that we all wanted what was best for Madison. That maybe we weren't always right...but that discourse made us better. And, at the end of the day...it wasn't personal.

I thought of those days today as I sat in the Council Chambers. And, I thought about my friend Tim Morrissey's morning rant. That Politics Suck when one side does something good that both sides can agree on...and the other side trashes that good deed for political gain.

And, I thought to myself, State and Federal politicians are beyond help. They feed off the media and the media feeds off them. It's time to walk away.

We would all vote against most incumbants on principle if there were a better choice. But, given the state of politics at the State and Federal level, what rationale, intelligent, successful, competent individual would subject themselves to a world of ethically challenged media types and the drama queens that they'd have to work with?

I have friends that I classify as brilliant. Not in the rocket scientist definition...but in the "how-to-get-shit-done" definition. Not a one will run for public office. Nor would I. Why would we?

So...it comes down to local. We can't change Obama's elitism, Romney's lack of center, Santorum's bat-shit crazy ideas or Newt's unlikability. We can't change Walker's belief that he is the annointed one. We can't change the State Democrats' childish temper tantrums. We can't change shit.

Except locally. While I'm sure there are municipalities where the discourse is as toxic as it is up top, in most cases...it's not. Probably because the media isn't fanning the flames of discontent at the local level.

That's where we should put our efforts, my friends. Locally.

And when the State and Federal goofs have gone too far (and, despite the last year here in Wisconsin, it's clear they haven't)? Well...revolution is just a shot away.

Thanks, Tim...for taking me down this path. And sorry to those from around the world for which this was too Madisonian a rant. I swear tomorrow's will be more universal in scope...kinda.

And What About the Rest of Us?

This week, the TSA will no longer require those over 74 years of age to remove their shoes and jackets at a number of airport security check-points. Last year, they made a similar call for kids under 13.

Because no one under 13 or over 74 has ever tried to bring down a commercial airliner?

Last time I checked, no one over 40 has ever tried. So why 75? Why not 70? 65? 60?

And why tell the world? If you want to give old folks a day pass, just do it.

Why are We Still Doing Casting Calls?

At the risk of being called a racist (it's so easy these days to toss the "R" word), I get why some faces are selected for ads and some are not. When you get one shot at appealing to the largest cross-section of consumers, you want as many people to identify with the visual as possible.

For those of us in the Destination Marketing world, it is easy to show diversity in our Visitor Guides and websites. With hundreds of images, we can show the darkest and lightest of skins all enjoying our offerings. When it's a one-off print ad or a TV spot, the choices become more limited.

I get that. It's the reality of marketing in this wonderfully diverse country.

But, to have an ad agency issue a casting call for "caucasian and light-skinned Hispanics?" WTF?

Isn't there a big searchable database on the interweb that has a ton of models available to view behind the closed doors of the agency? So that your well-conceived intent to appeal to the broadest possible cross-section of America doesn't appear to be so sensationaly racist? And, by association, splatters your client when the media grabs hold of the story?

While we should really be past the whole skin color thing, research shows that African-Americans respond more favorably to ads with African-Americans, Hispanics and Latinos to Hispanic and Latinos, Asians to Asians, Whites to Whites, Natives to Natives.

What this agency is attempting to do isn't wrong. How they went about it is.

Casting Calls? Really?