You probably think I'm talking about the incredibly lame "Tea Party" notion that Republican leaders have been tossing about willy-nilly, falling on tens of millions of deaf ears. Seems when your party's approval rating is hovering in the upper-teens, grasping at even the most ludicrous of straws sounds like an answer. If that's the answer, I ask what was the question!? I'm hoping today is a national flop for them, and that they at least make an attempt to support Prez O as he tries to lead us out of the mess his 8-year predecessor left.
No, today we're talking about people being pushed to the limit by cutbacks. Back in 1970, a garage band from Detroit called the Motor City Five (MC5) challenged the ideas of authority:
"Brothers and Sisters, let me see a sea of hands out there. You must choose, Brothers, you must choose. It takes 5 seconds of decision. 5 seconds to decide your purpose here on the planet. 5 Seconds to decide whether you are going to be part of the problem, or if you're going to be part of the solution."
Back then, it was inflammatory rhetoric, aimed at the government during the time of Richard Nixon. But looking at it now, it kind of looks like common sense, doesn't it? Every one of us has the option of being part of the problem, or working to make things better. Even if not better, many of us would crave the status quo at this point! Well, we all know that cruise lines have been somewhat depressed over the last couple of years. Stocks are down, fuel costs were up heavily last year, and it's become harder to fill mega-size ships in this economy. Part of the problem is the major cruise lines are publicly-traded on Wall Street, so investors and shareholders are screaming "make me profits - NOW!" while passengers are yelling "you'd better make sure I still get the same great food and service I'm accustomed to, and don't you dare pull any of my perks!" So what's a Mother to do? Personally, I have a different viewpoint than the investors. I think the all-inclusive hotel market has eaten into cruise lines' market share so severely, I'd settle for a few more meager profits now to make the long-term outlook better. That means if anything going MORE all-out to please customers. Look for ways to trim waste, while upgrading the food quality. Offer more incentives, not less. You have to maintain or win back your customer base in bad times. It's no time to scrimp!
Royal Caribbean found out the hard way. One of their most popular perks for "Diamond" Crown & Anchor guests (past passengers with 10 cruises or more - which is a lot if you think about it), has been a private Concierge Lounge on board. In the evenings, they can gather to discuss what a great time they're having, enjoy free wine, champagne and drinks, and plan their next Royal Caribbean getaway. Recently, though, the line made the decision that with the larger ships, and the lounge getting more and more crowded, they'd just do away with this extra perk and maybe nobody would notice. Or if they did, they'd just chalk it up to "Oh well." NOT! Diamond members went full-throttle-ballistic, and pulled a Tea Party of their own right in Royal Caribbean's grill. Response and threats were so overwhelming, CEO Adam Goldstein has retracted the cutback...at least to a point. He said they knew feedback would be negative, but not THIS negative, so they've decided to re-instate the program to a degree. Instead of a small concierge lounge, they'll choose a different public lounge each night to hold the gatherings. Wine and champagne will still be free, but mixed drinks will not - though they'll be 25% off. I guess when you're marking alcohol up 400% you can afford to rebate a quarter of that and live on 300%. In addition to giving back the social event atmosphere and free anything-from-a-grape, Goldstein announced the line would also offer Diamond members a private continental breakfast in the morning. This is to take place in a room where a crew member would be on hand, to also provide concierge-like services such as lining up ice show tickets. So all is not lost! Here's your bagel and a "concierge-like" crewmember! Good grief. And cruise lines wonder why people have turned more and more to all-inclusive vacations...it's a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Art For Art's Sake?
Whenever you want to find something out-of-the-ordinary in the news, you don't have to look much further than the Golden Gate Bridge. Artist Beth Grossman has created a wall exhibit, entitled "Seats of Power," to encourage citizens to greater activism in local affairs around Brisbane, California (just south of San Francisco Bay). The "Seats" are the actual, upholstered cushions of each of the 10 city council members, who allowed Grossman to photograph them from behind, clothed, through a sheet of Plexiglas pressed against their posteriors to simulate being seated. All 10 council members co-operated, including Mayor Sepi Richardson, who said she had been considering her long-term legacy anyway, "but never thought it would be my backside." Hopefully, the council members will not be the butt of jokes about this. I'm still wondering how the Seats of Power exhibit is supposed to "encourage citizens to greater activism in local affairs." Maybe the word "affairs" has a double meaning.....Hmmmmm.
A recent CNN report has me feeling safer already. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ruled in January that a post-9/11 Federal maritime law, which requires comprehensive background credentials for all mariners holding U.S. Coast Guard authorization on U.S. waters, applies to everyone, regardless of how obscure. Easton, Pennsylvania has a tourist area called the Hugh Moore Historical Park, and in tourist season they have two young men dress up in colonial costumes as "mule skinners." The park's lone mule-pulled boat operates in a 2-mile-long canal, back and forth. The mule skinners, who are mostly there to be photographed, represent the struggles of days-gone-by colonists for the enjoyment of visitors. Well, did you see the key word in there? Canal? Yes folks, that's water. RED-WHITE-AND-BLUE AMERICAN WATER, too! So as absurd as it sounds, the mule skinner duo was told in January they would also have to have a background check and receive maritime credentials, to live up to Federal law. I guess the Coast Guard will have to drive hundreds of miles inland to check up on these guys, to make sure our freedoms are not under further erosion. Insane.
Reminder: Don't break the law in Oklahoma!
Oklahoma career criminal Darron Bennalford Anderson received a severe prison sentence back in 1994: 2,200-years. The Tulsa court had tried him for aggravated armed battery, multiple assaults, kidnapping, and dozens of other charges. Through the appeals process, he won a new trial in 1996. Unfortunately for him, he was re-convicted and re-sentenced, to over 90 additional centuries behind bars (a total of 11,250 years, including 40 centuries each for the most serious assaults, 17 centuries for kidnapping, 10 centuries for burglary and robbery, and 5 centuries for grand larceny). The State Court of Criminal Appeals has now reviewed his case, and retrospectively dismissed the grand larceny charge, as double jeopardy on the robbery conviction. This has moved Anderson's release date up by 500 years to 12,744 A.D. I'd mention time off for good behavior, but it doesn't sound like this loser is capable of it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment