11 Million Views!

This message has been viewed an astounding 11 million times on You Tube. It's an instant classic and has becopme the most-viewed message of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Watch it. Listen closely. Take it all in.
It's authentic. It's true. It's honest. It's compelling. It's one of the most powerful messages you will ever see.

At Last!

Closer Brad Lidge reacts after sealing the Phils' World Series victory.

The last time this happened was 1980 and this time is every bit as exuberant if not more so - every bit as joyous and uproarious. It's exultant; overwhelming.

Aimee Cirucci reports from center city that Broad Street is overflowing with people. Fans have spilled out from everywhere into a massive spontaneous street party. It's like Christmas, New Years and the Fourth of July all rolled into one.

We join with all Philadelphians in congratulating the Phillies, the Phans and the city!

MLB Waits For Obama

Major League Baseball screws up a rain-delayed game that shouldn't have been played in the first place then goes ahead and delays the start of thw World Series game so the OH!man can make yet another speech.
While you're waiting for the baseball game to start tonight you can thank Obama for the delay!
Shame on Obama and his people for making baseball fans wait.
Shame on MLB for cooperating with it all!

Mystery Man

Who is Barack Obama and what is he hiding?
Consider the following:
1. Occidental College records — Not released
2. Columbia College records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — ‘not available’
4. Harvard College records — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — ‘not available’
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate - - Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
13. Your Record of baptism– Not released or ‘not available’
14. Your Illinois State Senate records–’not available’

MLB Sucks!

It was greed.
Greed, greed, greed!
The runaway greed of professional sports prevented the Phillies from winning the world championship last night.
Baseball should never be played this late in the year. Never. But now they've gotta have playoffs on top of playoffs on top of playoffs to the point where you need a damned computer to figure out where we are in the playoffs. More games; more money.
It's almost November. It's cold. It's damp. It's sloppy.
No time for baseball.
But $$$$$ drive the game now.
OK, that's strike one.
Then, everybody knew it was gonna rain. So, this game should have been played on Tuesday AFTERNOON so that it could be finished. After all, baseball was meant to be played in DAYLIGHT anyway! That's the way the game's supposed to be played.
But once again, greed won. The TV audience and commercial bucks drive the game. That means you have to play it and air it during prime time. This creates a circus atmosphere, a drunken orgy and next-day working stiffs who are googly-eyed if they get into work at all.
That's two strikes.
And then finally, they went and changed the damned rules. They HAD to tinker.
Under the old rules, the final Rays' run in the 6th would have been undone, and -- believe it or not -- the Phillies would have won the game 2-1 and won the World Series.
But as I understand it, the rule was changed in 2007. Now, the game is suspended and will be resumed where it left off.
This new rule is dumb.
How in hell do they resume the game tomorrow?
How do you suspend the World Series in the middle of a game?
Strike three!
Major league Baseball: You are OUT!

Join Us Tomorrow!

Luncheon Program

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

“From Main St. to Wall St.

The Role of Public Relations in Election '08”

Location: Table 31Private Dining Room (3rd Floor)1701 JFK Blvd.The Comcast Building Philadelphia, PA 19103

All meeting attendees need to go through security in the lobby of the Comcast Building to access the Private Dining Room on the 3rd Floor. Table 31’s Private Dining Room is located to the right as you exit the elevator on the 3rd Floor.

Time: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Registration & Networking12:00 - 1:30 PM

Lunch and Program Cost: $45 for members;
$55 for non-members;$25 for students;
Additional $5 for Walk-ins

As the country gears up for an election unlike any in its history, two of the most unique presidential campaigns ever are leveraging various public relations tactics in the battle for the White House. Join PPRA and some of Philadelphia's top political media and expert political analysts as they discuss the role of public relations in these historic political machines and dissect what this election cycle has taught us about the communications profession, from ethics and integrity to public opinion and influence.Panelists include:Dan Cirucci (Moderator), PPRA Hall-of-Famer and political bloggerGreg Coy, Co-host of CN8’s “Your Morning”Larry Eichel, Philadelphia InquirerChristine Flowers, Philadelphia Daily NewsJeff Jubelirer, Principal, Ceisler Jubelirer and political analyst
Click here to download the registration form.
Click here for online registration for the October Program.

Best Of Austin!

On Friday night here in Austin we ate at Truluck's (pronounced True Luck's) steak and seafood restaurant.
Trulucks is upscale and sophisticated with a sleek atmosphere, hip patrons and a pianist who plays show tunes and light jazz.
The place specializes in Alaskan king crab and other specialities. The martinis are big, icy cold and perfectly mixed. For dinner, we enjoyed trout and halibut and both were prepared to perfection.
On Saturday we lunched at Guero's Taco Bar. Guero's has been around for a long time and it is a mecca here in Austin. Everything - corn tacos, chips and salsa - is made on the premises. We enjoyed both steak and chicken tacos. This is how good the fresh made corn tacos are: You can eat the taco alone and enjoy it.
For dessert we headed across the street on Congress Ave. to Hey, Cupcake - a trailer that serves the best cupcakes in Austin. The standard cupcake (vanilla cake with chocolate icing and a shot of whipped cream on top) is two bucks and it is the dreamiest cupcake you will ever eat -- light, fluffy with a silky icing. Two people can share one of these cupcakes and each will enjoy an extraordinary sweet treat. I'm told that 5.000 cupcakes a day are sold from this trailer and I can believe it.
Of course we still longed for some real Texas barbecue so we saved that treat for dinner.
We journeyed up toward West Lake and Bee Cave to enjoy County Line BBQ on the hill. We watched a spectacular sunset over Texas hill country while we ate chicken and beef brisket barbecue.
BTW: The weather in Texas is beautiful this time of year. It's been sunny every day with temperatures in the mid to high 70s. The huge sky is blue, blue, blue. The sun is gentle and it shines at just the right angle. The evenings are cool and relaxing. There is little or no rain. It's one day after another just like this. Wonderful!

The Texas Way

We've been having a great time here in the Lone Star State and today we did a tour of the Texas State Capitol.

Would you believe that the Texas state legislature meet only 142 days every other year?

Texas has citizen legislators. They don't get paid very much because they really are are part time emplyess.

They only meet every other year. And they manage to conduct all the necessry business of a very large, very sophisticated state -- a state with a budget that is larger than that of most nations.

Sort of makes me wonder about Joisey and Pennsylvania. When those legislatures are in session (and they are in session a lot) it seems that major damage is done. The more they meet, the worse things get.

Keeping the legislature out of session makes sense!

If Texas can do it, why can't we?

Tiny Vote For McC!

Scranton made the big time this year. Sort-of native daughter Hillary Clinton was shaking glass from her hair as she hammered away at that ceiling.
Native son Joe Biden was tapped to be the Democratic veep pick.
Native son Bob Casey Jr. made lots of new friends at the Democratic convention by making nice on the abortion issue.
But perhaps the most important appearance Scranton will make in this election is in the person of a man named Joseph Martino.
You've heard of Joe the Plumber - well, this is Joe the Bishop.
Joseph Martino is head of
Scranton's Catholic diocese, which may hold the key to at least one battleground state. Catholics are a good bellwether for national trends. And Bishop Martino is trying to make sure his flock trends in the right direction.
He recently issued a letter warning that "being 'right' on taxes, education, health care, immigration and the economy fails to make up for the error of disregarding the value of human life."
This is a swipe at prominent cafeteria Catholics and noted theologians like Nancy Pelosi who've tried to argue that Catholics shouldn't be one-issue voters. Knowing that many Catholics tend to be squeamish about the party's stand on abortion, Democrats have tried to appeal to this important demographic by playing bait-and-switch - if they can divert our attention from their support for the abortion lobby, we'll be able to pull the lever for Obama. . . .
To read the rest of Christine Flowres' wonderful column from the Philadelphia Daily News and Real Clear Politics, click here.

Red State Fun

We needed to sink our feet solidly into the soil of a true Red State for awhile.

So, we flew to our beloved Texas.

And we're here in Austin for the National Association of Bar Executives annual Communications Workshop where we will conduct a workshop and present this year's E. A. Wally Richter Leadership Award.

Austin is a beautiful city - and one that has preserved and restored so many lovely and historic buildings. This town sits like a finely polished gem on the Colorado River and our hotel has a lovely river view.

Austin is also the state capital and few states have a more stately and impressive capitol dome than Texas. While we're here we will be enjoying many of the historic attractions.

But last night we whooped it up with colleagues at Esther's Follies which is Austin's version of comedy, vaudeville, satire and music all combined into a show that is sort of like Washington's Capital Steps. (Cast of Esther's pictured).

The show lampooned everyone and incorporated a healthy share of audience participation. Esther's sits right in the heart of Austin's lively Sixth Street entertainment district which is lined with music havens that offer potent libations.

This is a mecca for live music and Sixth Street is the place to be.

In fact, Austin bills itself as "the live music capital of the world."