Anyone who knows me knows that hypocrisy and fanaticism are tied for first place on my list of things-that-I-detest.

Political, religious and business hypocrisy continue to make headlines; rarely do I find myself laughing, but this time I did.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the undisputed king of monopolistic uncompetitive practices is boo-hooing to both US and European regulators that Google has an unfair advantage in search.

Ballmer said Microsoft believes Google Inc. has done a number of things to gain an unfair advantage in the Internet’s lucrative search advertising market. He didn’t specify the alleged misconduct.

I am not alone in considering this totally ludicrous. And it’s not what Google does or does not do, but that Ballmer has the audacity to complain in the wake of Microsoft’s own track record.

And therein lays the real problem.

The idea that if ‘they’ do it it’s unfair, immoral, or illegal, but if we do it it’s OK.

We saw it in the arguments of torture being acceptable on the detainees at Gitmo.

We see it in the political and religious leaders who preach high moral codes while practicing immorality.

We see it in business leaders who preach ethics and practice them only as long as it’s convenient.

We see it in parents who demand better education and then condemn any teacher that doesn’t give their child a good grade.

We see it in colleagues whom we complain of slacking only to do something similar ourselves.

We see it in friends who share our private information even as we share someone else’s.

To paraphrase Walt Kelly’s Pogo, “We have met the hypocrite and he is us.”

Image credit: Kain Kalju on flickr

“The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.” –Cynthia Dunbar, another Christian activist on the Texas board of education.

I have nothing against Christians or Texans; as the saying goes, some of my best friends are Christian and a few are Texans.

But I have a lot against the idea that tomorrow’s K-12 textbooks will be written to conform with the desires of the Texas educational system and the 7 Christian activists who have decided that the time is right to try to reshape the history that children in public schools study—in their version Robert Kennedy is not a “significant American,” but Newt Gingrich is.

The state’s $22 billion education fund is among the largest educational endowments in the country. Texas uses some of that money to buy or distribute a staggering 48 million textbooks annually — which rather strongly inclines educational publishers to tailor their products to fit the standards dictated by the Lone Star State.

This could go a long way to homogenizing thought and reducing international respect still further, not to mention encouraging hate, bigotry and ignorance.

But what else should I expect from a place where Republican Rep. Betty Brown suggested in testimony that “Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with,”” and Brown’s spokesman insisted that the comment had nothing to do with race.

Nuff said; rant over; thanks for listening.

March 18: I couldn’t resist adding a link to this great Mike Luckovich cartoon that sums my rant up so nicely.

Image credit: haldean on flickr

Image credit: HikingArtist on flickr

One reason I love the NY Times is that it runs great articles on new research about what makes us humans tick.

Most of us are aware that there are different forms of communications. Verbal, i.e., words, is the most common, but nonverbal, tone of voice and facial expressions, are often more potent.

And then there is touch.

For years, I’ve read about the importance of touch for infants.

In research with infants, it was shown that gently massaging premature infants three times per day for 15 minutes helped them gain weight, be more alert, and cry less. These infants were released from the hospital sooner than infants who were not massaged.

The latest research confirms the same positive response in adults.

Momentary touches, they say — whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a creepy touch to the arm — can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words.

Two attitudes make this work.

1. Sincerity; people will know if your actions are manipulative as opposed to authentic.
2. Appropriateness; to avoid a negative reaction from anyone use your observational skills and common sense; high fives and similar expressions are the safest, while hugs are the most dangerous. An employee who avoids physical contact with her team is unlikely to appreciate being touched by her boss.

There are many ways to inspire and show you care just as there are many clubs in a golf bag; and just as it is a fallacy to play the whole course with just one club, using only one form of communication to motivate your people is to shortchange them—and you.

Image credit: Svadilfari on flickr

Today is the start of Women’s History Month, click over, I think you’ll find it an interesting experience; the interview with Cokie Roberts is especially fascinating as she explains the political power of women before they could vote.

These are an extraordinary group of people. The characters that emerge in this book in ways that you have never, never, I can assure you seen them before are people as divergent as Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Sacagawea Sally Hemmings, and a cast of just an enormous number of women particularly women who take center stage very quickly — Aaron Burr’s daughter —

And if you think politics is a dirty business now, you’ll be blown away by what was said/done to a politically active wife, such as Dolly Madison.

I hope you’ll take time to dig around the Women’s History Site over the next 30 days. It should be interesting.

Image credit: Wikipedia