The Little Words Mean the Most

Which one is an information source and which one is an ideological circus, meant merely to entertain and/or mislead?

A. The New York Times

B. Fox News

Rest in Peace: Iona B. Dobbins

Iona was my boss at the RI State Council on the Arts for about 4 years. She died last Friday at 82, of what I heard was metastatic breast cancer. When I first got to know her, she'd just been named interim ED at the Council to replace an ED who got fired for naivete, when she balked at the shenanigans of her politically appointed board. Iona was deemed "mature," cheerful, diplomatic, and malleable by the board. Who got everything right but the malleable part. Iona faced off squarely against the casual corruption and worst practices infecting governance at this obscure state agency. She did remain cheerful, though. And she outlasted all her enemies, except her staff, who unionized. Iona was the best boss I ever had: fun, visionary, unafraid, stable, calm, joshing. She was a practising Quaker. She had two great daughters, Catherine and Debbie, with Dick, her Brown professor husband. Iona was of the arts. Dick was of the sciences. They were a good pair. Iona defined "extraordinary."

The best fundraising consultant right now

... is the one who deeply understands baby boomers. "Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) began to outnumber their elders in the donor-aged population starting in 2010. This monster demographic group is going to be the backbone of charitable giving from now until the mid-2030s." -- Jeff Brooks, one of America's top direct mail creatives

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In Memoriam: Kay Partney Lautman

I own her book, Direct Marketing for Nonprofits. It's a core book in my library, explaining all aspects of direct mail fundraising. Kay Lautman was a legend. I never spoke to her. We have friends in common. Not only was she extraordinarily good at her chosen trade, she broke the glass ceiling in the industry ... big time ... in the rough town of Washington, DC.

I want to please my clients ... with results

On the other hand.... The last thing I care about is winning clients' approval. Why would someone with years of training and experience seek the approval of people with little-to-no training or experience? Of course, that's why I also have zero employees. Given my attitude toward clients, the only payroll I want to be responsible for is my own.

That's a participle, not a gerund

We’re fed up with “hoping for the cure.”

If Mitt Romney wins....

... a few hundred ultra-rich people will have pulled off the deal of the century: they will now own the regulatory and taxation powers of the US government. No matter how much it costs, it will be cheap at the price.

Plutocracy: The practical definition

"I've got mine. My friends have theirs. And we couldn't care less what happens to the rest of you."

A Novel: Act 2

I heard it finding its way to my tongue. I felt it sitting there, waiting for me to say the next thing. And it bailed out of my mouth. I saw it cross the room like a verbal paintball. And then land in his ear. "You, sir, are a poltroon," I said. Although it was an antique slur, I did not expect him to take it as a compliment. Nor did he.