#it's not like these reps cannot discuss their projects together

[six-of-ravens]

today is one of those days where I have to remind myself that just because Errant PM made up some bullshit, like a highly unrealistic deadline or randomly deciding to start showing clients half-built sites during the multiple meetings she has with them a week*, doesn't mean I have to do any of it. I can just build my little site like normal and she'll have to deal with the consequences of her idiocy.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 26, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

As the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol starts its work, former president Trump and his supporters are consolidating their power over the Republican Party. Through it, they hope to control the nation.

Trump this morning tried to assert his dominance over the party by issuing a statement in which he demanded that Republican senators scrap the infrastructure bill that has been more than three months in the making. Although he did not note any specific provisions in the bill, he claimed that senators were getting “savaged” in the negotiations because Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “and his small group of RINOs wants nothing more than to get a deal done at any cost to prove that he can work with the Radical Left Democrats.” Trump ordered lawmakers not to do an infrastructure deal “until after we get proper election results in 2022 or otherwise…. Republicans,” he ordered, “don’t let the Radical Left play you for weak fools and losers!”

The term “RINO” comes from the 1990s, when the Movement Conservatives taking over the Republican Party used it to discredit traditional Republicans as “Republicans In Name Only.” It reversed reality—the Movement Conservatives were the RINOs, not the other way around—but it worked. Movement Conservatives, who wanted to get rid of the New Deal and take the government back to the 1920s, pushed aside traditional Republicans who agreed with Democrats that the government should regulate business, provide a basic social safety net, and promote infrastructure.

Now, the former president is doing the same thing: claiming that the Movement Conservatives who now dominate the leadership of the Republican Party are not really Republicans. True Republicans, he says, are those loyal only to him.

He is using the infrastructure bill as a loyalty test. The reality is that an infrastructure package is very popular, and walking away from it will cost Republicans in states that are not fully under Trump’s sway. A new poll by the Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC is the nonpartisan National Opinion Research Center affiliated with the university) finds that 83% of Americans, including 79% of Republicans and 80% of Independents, want funding for roads, bridges, and ports. Sixty-six percent of Americans, including 43% of Republicans and 53% of Independents, want to pay for it with higher taxes on corporations.

Walking away from those kinds of numbers seems like political poison, and yet the discussions to whip the bipartisan bill into shape seemed to veer off track today.

The demand for Republican loyalty is playing out as the January 6 committee gets down to business. Organizing that committee has driven a wedge through Republican lawmakers. After an initial period in which leaders like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressed outrage and a desire to learn what had created the January 6 crisis, the leaders have lined up behind the former president. Emboldened, Trump’s supporters have become more aggressive in their insistence that they, not those interested in stopping a future insurrection, are the good guys.

After Republican senators rejected the establishment of a bipartisan select commission and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) set up a House select committee instead, McCarthy tried to sabotage the committee by putting on it two extreme Trump supporters out of the five slots he was assigned. He named Jim Jordan (R-OH) but pretty clearly expected Pelosi would toss him and put up with Jim Banks (R-IN), whom McCarthy had named the ranking member of the committee. Banks was on record attacking the committee as a leftist plot, and could undermine the committee’s work while getting enough media time to launch him as a national political candidate (his hiring of Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson’s son long before this indicated his hope for good media coverage for a possible swing at a higher office).

But Pelosi didn’t play. She refused to accept either Jordan or Banks, prompting McCarthy to pull all five of his nominees. She had already chosen Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) as one of her eight seats on the committee; yesterday she added Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) as well. Both Cheney and Kinzinger are Movement Conservatives, but they are not willing to jump on the Trump bandwagon.

Today, when PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor asked McCarthy what he thought of Cheney and Kinzinger’s participation on the committee, he called them “Pelosi Republicans.” He has suggested that they might face sanctions from the party for their cooperation with the committee.

Both Cheney and Kinzinger voted for Trump. Cheney voted with Trump more than 90% of the time. Kinzinger voted with him 99% of the time in the president’s first two years in office. Trying to make them into Democrats because they did not support the insurrection is a double-edged sword. McCarthy is trying to read them out of the Republican Party, for sure, but he is also tying the entire party to Trump, and it seems likely—from Trump’s rising panic, if nothing else—that the committee will discover things that will not show the former president and his supporters in a good light.

Today Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chair of the select committee and of the House Homeland Security Committee, published an op-ed in the Washington Post. He noted that in a recent CBS News survey, 72% of Americans said they thought there was more to learn about what happened on January 6. He promised that “nothing will be off-limits” as the committee figures out “what happened, why and how. And we will make recommendations to help ensure it never happens again.”

Along with Thompson, Liz Cheney will deliver opening remarks from the committee before it begins to hear the testimony of Capitol Police.

But McCarthy and other Trump supporters are doing all they can to derail the investigation into what happened on January 6. The committee’s work is not a criminal investigation: that is the job of the Department of Justice, which has already charged more than 535 people for their actions in the insurrection. The committee will try to piece together the events leading up to January 6, along with why the response from law enforcement was so delayed. It will look at the response of the White House, as well as the funders and organizers of the rallies of January 5 and 6. It will look at members of Congress, and how they intersected with the events of that day.

Politico’s congressional reporter Olivia Beavers reported that McCarthy will try to counter the committee’s first hearing tomorrow morning with a press conference. Sometime later in the day, Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), staunch and vocal Trump supporters all, are planning a press conference outside the Department of Justice, where they plan to demand “answers on the treatment of January 6th prisoners” from Attorney General Merrick Garland.

One of the hallmarks of a personality like that of former president Donald Trump is that he cannot stop escalating. It’s not that he won’t stop; it’s that he can’t stop. And he will escalate until someone finally draws a line and holds it.

—-

Notes:

Cheney:

BrooklynDad_Defiant! @mmpadellanRep. Liz Cheney will be delivering the opening remarks of the January 6th hearing before Capitol Police testify. This should be...interesting.1,762 Retweets13,293 Likes

July 26th 2021

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-rino-rino-rino

https://apnorc.org/projects/views-on-the-infrastructure-bill/

Yamiche Alcindor @YamicheI asked Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy what he makes of GOP Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger sitting on the January 6th Select Committee. He replied in two words here at the WH: “Pelosi Republicans.”842 Retweets4,461 Likes

July 26th 2021

https://www.oneillinois.com/stories/2021/1/8/kinzinger-voted-for-with-trump-before-turning

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/26/cheney-mccarthy-jan-6-investigation-500741

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/january-6-opinion-poll/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/26/bennie-thompson-jan-6-investigation/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bipartisan-infrastructure-talks-in-dire-state-ahead-of-pivotal-week/ar-AAMzKuV

Olivia Beavers @Olivia_BeaversGOP Strategy: 2 sources tell me House Rs — including members McCarthy picked to serve on the 1/6 select panel and then pulled & likely Scalise/Stefanik — will hold a presser tomorrow AM to try to counter Dems’ messaging about the 1/6 probe ahead of committee’s first hearing.103 Retweets269 Likes

July 26th 2021

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/capitol-riot-arrests-latest-2021-07-22/

https://www.justsecurity.org/77588/questions-the-january-6-select-committee-should-ask-its-witnesses/

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/prime/where-things-stand-july-26-2021-tomorrow-sinister-counter-programming

https://www.axios.com/jan-6-graphic-footage-capitol-attack-041e0422-42b7-4f4b-8d1b-bc55612733b8.html

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[2ofswords]

hmm... Bachelor and Schmowder, please!

Bachelor; thoughts on the Utopians?

Oh dear… Many thoughts, head full. To be controversial and cut straight to the point: I think the Utopians – both as an ideology and the characters – get a really bad rep and I think they do not deserve as much of it. (Some of it, definitely, but not all.) I am just a bit sad about having to justify or defend my utopian beliefs or disclaim them with “but I do not share the most shitty version of it”, when this just isn’t the case for any other of the factions and I think the same about liking the Utopians as characters. I think most of this bad rep comes from the ending (which is pretty shitty but why I don’t think it is entirely fair, I kind of elaborate here. For now I will spare everyone the discussion) and from talking with Georgiy, who definitely has some freaking shitty takes. But I feel only listening to Georgiy’s idea of the Utopian dream kind of has the same vibe as saying Katerina’s point of view represents all of the humbles. (Like… I don’t think people who are complacent are less worth, but I also do not defend the death penalty for heretics.) It’s just the most extreme take the ideology has and there are a lot Utopians who do not seem to share this at all. Even the probably second most problematic Utopian – Maria – already has a very different view and talks about a design, where Utopia incorporates different forms of living and the different sides of town are necessary layers (it is still is not a very good take since it is pretty condescending but – you know – it is not “fuck normal people!”) and actually seems to see the plague as a bad thing that should be stopped. I think the Utopian belief system seems to be the tightest, because they are actually working together on a project from the very beginning but a lot of the details and worldviews still differ. Like… Eva and Peter for example have very different ideals, Eva being more focussed on personal growth and giving people kindness and soul for their own benefit and Peter wanting to accommodate abstract potential and not being focussed on forming people directly but seeing great things that he wants to make real. Or even Dankovsky, whose very ideal is explicitly usable for everyone (and who can tell Georgiy off in Marble Nest and is mostly confused by the Kains in P1). And… well, I don’t know, I just feel really uncomfortable with people having to defend liking progress, which… you know… is a good thing even if the cost of it should obviously be argued about. And wanting humanity to grow and discover what was thought of as impossible… I don’t know I think that is a very neat concept. Even necessary and thinking about not allowing the need for progress, growth and exploration also is a very problematic form of oppression. I just think they get shortcutted a lot to Georgiy being a freaking incomprehensible asshole and to “but they kill a lot of people” which… is completely fair but I think some of their ideas are still interesting, if they would just be a liiiitle bit more chill about them. (To give an easy example: I think using Stillwater as a guesthouse because they need new people for their experiments with it is pretty fucked up. But if they would be like “heeey new person, you could have a normal house but we also have this super freaky cool place that does neat wacky stuff and we would really appreciate you do live there for a while” would be like…. Cool as heck?)

tl;dr: Love the Utopian concept, hate it when the very principle gets completely trashed but man, they need to have a little bit more chill!

 Shmowder; what items would you trade for?

Hm… I will only use in game items for this… I will take charms, scrap name, broken watches and notes. I will give: chalk, marbles, fishing hooks and fingernails. I just want written shit and I like the themes of fortune and time both a lot. And I am not smart and practical enough to trade for usefull stuff in the apocalypse. More broken clockwork I cannot fix, please! And I do not have a lot of useful things to give, but my father fishes a lot and I could get on some hooks, chalk and marbles I just have a lot of and the fingernails I could see myself collecting but also be willing to part with them.  Which means I am pretty useless, unless you need like… need to fasttravel a lot or do not have enough random shit to trade for a shmowder.

[cantskank]

i think i’m having to accept that tma is just not the fan space for me.  i enjoy it now, but the only reason i got into was for the ace rep.  i’m not a fan of horror OR scripted podcasts (like i am neutral to actively dislike them pretty much).  i was not expecting it to be a romance.  not to be the grouchy aro but i thought getting into a horror podcast would be like “safe” for not having romance.  and i really like the pairing actually!  and like literally everyone else i project so heavily onto martin.  my relationship with romance in fiction is usually like- i like the part where they’re falling in love/getting together.  then the actual relationship itself is...like dicey at best for me (in terms of enjoyment).  it depends how it is portrayed really- sometimes i get it, and a lot of times it just seems so unappealing.  and like now is not the best time for either of them so i don’t really...get it.  honestly it just feels like they’re getting on each other’s nerves but are still together?  idk why that aggravates me- i acknowledge this isn’t a rational way to feel about this fictional relationship.

ANYWAYS.  idk i guess i hoped getting into tma that i would really relate to jon’s experience.  but we don’t even get his experience!  we find out secondhand, and it’s not even clear what we find out- so much so that it took someone asking a question and the creator’s response to clear it up.  even then, it was some “HE might not think of it that way but that’s what it is i guess” which is some straight BULLSHIT (pardon the pun).  i just wanna state for the record that that is WEAKSAUCE FUCKING REPRESENTATION.  at least don’t be so much of a coward that we can barely tell you’re trying to out him as ace (without him knowing) and then skirt the issue

and i don’t think he really got how important ace rep is so i maybe can’t fault him for that but...it sucks.  at least like...educate yourself on ways it might be good to portray aces in media.  again, though, my expectations are a me problem.  i just think that like we don’t have enough extant ace rep to like...casually make a character that misses the mark in those ways.  like yeah there’s a vast wealth of ace experiences and there are tons of aces who would probably not be like super ready to accept that they are ace!  like i’m basically not out at ALL irl and so i get it!  but at least like you could maybe not make that one of the few ace characters we have to represent us?  ace rep is not at that point yet!  we need characters that are open and unashamed to be ace.  todd chavez was a really weird character for me to watch!  i was like way thrown off by how comfortable he was with talking about being asexual (even though it did take some time for him to accept it!  which is totally reasonable!).  but i think it was necessary because it weirdly went such a long way to normalizing it for me?  like i’m asexual!  i spent a large formative part of my late teens/early twenties interacting with almost all asexuals on the internet (aven).  if anyone is accustomed to asexuality it should be me, right??  but actually seeing a character be asexual and even discuss it proudly made me realize how much of a shameful secret i thought of my asexuality as.  i’ve definitely framed it as a forbidden or taboo topic and really separated my active, open asexual persona online from my irl persona.  anyway the fact that that one character had such an impact on me just goes to show how much we still need that kind of representation and not some bullshit rep.

okay onto fandom shit:

i just find there’s so much fan content (mostly fic!  because i don’t really engage in any other way and i don’t really have any desire to!  because it’s even worse for this than fic i have a sense!) that doesn’t want to think critically about what an asexual relationship means/looks like.  either they are not ace and have heard “oh okay aces ‘can’ have sex, well jon will just have sex!” or they are ace and idk have internalized that message as well?  either way i fucking hate people who don’t think about how that relationship might diverge from an allo one.  THEY ARE DIFFERENT.  ASEXUALITY IS ITS OWN THING.  IT IS NOT A THING WHERE YOU JUST DO WHAT YOUR PARTNER WANTS.  IT IS NOT A THING WHERE YOU SAY “OKAY SURE” AND NEVER DISCUSS BEYOND THAT OR BOTHER TO SET BOUNDARIES.  IT IS NOT JUST ONE CONVERSATION AND THEN DONE.  like an asexual relationship can be those things but i don’t think that’s an ideal relationship anyways?  (even for allos tbh..)  and idk why you’d want to idealize that in fandom anyways?  like you can make that relationship look like whatever you want!  why would you make it look like that?  (not to generalize or like invalidate anyone’s experience but i....feel like there is some internalized shit there.  especially when these things are presented without question?  like it’s one thing to present things one way and it’s another to do it without questioning.  one of my favorite ace fics (notably, not tma) is all about the ace character exploring his sexuality!  and having sex with his partner!  but it’s presented with such attention to all characters that i have no trouble at all.  having sex as an asexual is not inherently negative, but i cannot deal with media that doesn’t consider and address the implications of having sex as an asexual.

and honestly there’s so much discussion around the Issue (that i don’t even get involved in but it swirls around my peripheries of my fandom experience) that that aspect distresses me a lot!  because the people who disagree with me make me feel like shit.  i’m sure it is really confusing and difficult to be an asexual who is okay with sex, or interested in exploring sex, or whatever people would consider themselves.  it just feels antithetical to the asexual activism of ‘sex can be cool but it’s not necessarily for everyone.’  like, if you’re an ace who has sex or whatever, cool!  and i hope you can find your corner of the ace community that vibes with that.  i cannot, and like.  compulsory sexuality does not need propping up.  if sex is for you, then congrats!  you fit into the norm in that way!  you might not fit into the norm re: sexual attraction and i’m sure that’s not easy to reconcile.  however, i am not personally in a place where i can be the person who supports that uncritically when i’m still working within myself to understand where compulsory sexuality and amatonormativity have worked within me.  because i have been hurt by both of those things, MY primary goal is to work on dismantling those things (at least in myself, ideally in the world around me).  and people who do not have that as a goal and who instead want to mirror allo-ness in writing an ace character just don’t get the same consideration from me, unfortunately.  i guess this has helped me see that i should just fuck that noise.  if you want to make that the big thing you complain about on the internet i won’t stop you.  and...it occurs to me that’s what i’m doing!  so i’m going to refocus and stop just moping about my aro aceness and how i’m being ignored.  i’ve got better things to focus my time on than haters online.  i will not be dragged down to their mopey level!

also i feel weird and way too old for the fandom demographic (even though there are certainly fans waaaay older than me in the fandom!)  i think i’ve outgrown a lot of the fandom mentality.  wait is hockey fandom for old people?  (i’m fully not old but i’m probably old-ish for tumblr/fandom.  certainly old for tma fandom)  it occurs to me it’s sort of a graduation into a societally-acceptable form of fandom and it probably doesn’t appeal as much to younger audiences.  AND things can be as sexy/romantic or platonic as you like.

anyway all this is to say that i thought getting into media with aspec rep would be good for me but i think i must conclude that it has NOT.  it has actually just upset me way more than it has helped me feel good about being ace (which was the whole goal!).  i will be glad when it is over.  AND i’m glad i’ve really just been engaging with rqg fandom.  it is much more fun and a much better story! 

[sapphicambitions]

So I emailed the SYFY Feedback account. This is what I said. I’ll let y’all know if they respond.

To Whom it May Concern,

I'm writing concerning the Magicians finale which aired last night, April 17th. While the finale may have been beautifully acted and filmed, there are many real concerns that the fans have that were brought on by this episode. Many of us fear that these concerns are going to be overlooked or written off by the network, furthering the betrayal. I'm not sure who reads these feedback emails, but if it is at all possible to get it passed along to the right people, it would make a huge difference. 

The death of Quentin Coldwater was unnecessary and cruel. This is a character that has clinical depression and has been hospitalized multiple times for suicide attempts. One of Quentin's major character arcs is that he is in a better place now than he was before he discovered magic, and that he had to do that for himself. For fans facing their own mental illness and struggles, he was a beacon of light and a chance to see themselves on screen. Quentin was not special. His discipline was minor mendings. He was not a high king in his blood, he was barely the hero of the story. But he was the hero of his own story. And for fans, this was important. That even though they might not be "special" they could still live to fight another day. That they could find the courage to keep fighting. So many fans identified with Quentin. He was their reminder that if he could keep fighting and living, so could they. This is extremely important to people who are suicidal. It is not something to take lightly, as literal lives are at stake.

There is a problem in the action adventure / science fiction genre with using the heroic self sacrifice as an excuse for suicidal tendencies. It is a harmful trope, but when you place that trope on a character who is clinically depressed and suicidal, it is devastating. And Quentin Coldwater's suicide has devastated the fandom. If you were to go onto tumblr.com and go through the Magicians tags, you would see that the episode was incredibly triggering for the fans with mental illnesses. Because our hero who kept living to fight another day killed himself. The episode poorly addressed this when Quentin and Penny 40 were discussing this in the Underworld, and there was no specific conclusion. Suicide is never heroic in any context. Portraying suicide as heroic is dangerous.

Further, there was no reason for Quentin to die. In an interview with Sera Gamble, she discusses the choice in a way that is grotesque. She calls it an artistic choice and a "full complete circle of Quentin's storyline." Do you have any idea how harmful that is for suicidal viewers? To tell them that the only end of their story has to be their death? To tell them that their efforts of saving themselves are pointless? Quentin's death was tragedy for the sake of being tragic and shock value. This is damaging to fans who saw Quentin as a way to keep fighting. 

Additionally, the idea that Quentin's death was heroic or okay because all of his friends were able to love him and be okay, so that Quentin could find peace in death? That is the most catastrophic idea to come from this finale. John McNamara said in the same interview that he didn't want to write pro-suicide television but that is EXACTLY what they did. If they cannot understand why telling suicidal people that they will be able to find peace in death is dangerous and damaging, I can't begin to tell them how to care about people. Quentin's death was cruel and thoughtless. There's more that Sera and John say in the article but honestly I cannot stomach any more of it. Here's a link to the article I've mentioned:https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/the-magicians-finale-death.html The death of Quentin is not just important because of Quentin's mental illness, but because of Quentin's queerness. It cannot be denied anymore that Quentin Coldwater is queer. Following 3x05 and 4x05 especially, but from the word of the actor himself. Jason Ralph stated at comic con this past year that Quentin's queerness is the only thing he's not anxious about, and spent the entire con calling Q & Eliot soulmates and lifetime loves. The marketing department for the Magicians has released fan videos and egged on the queer viewers, encouraging them to watch for the representation. Quentin's entire motivation this entire season has been to get back to Eliot. And then in the last three episodes this build up was completely discarded.

Quentin and Alice get back together after both of them moving on with their own story lines and the fans agree that it doesn't make sense. The reunion of Qualice feels like it was essentially set up so that the writers had an excuse to not acknowledge Queliot in the finale. Because they didn't. Quentin has spent the entire season trying to save Eliot and then we don't get to see him reunite with Eliot. Even if one were to ignore anything Queliot, they have been best friends for the last four seasons and narratively it doesn't make sense. The fans feel as though it was a purely homophobic move and are hurt. The build up and then casting aside of a queer narrative is hurtful to queer audiences.

Queer audiences get such little scraps from shows as it is that the Magicians was a breath of fresh air and the chance to see our stories played out on screen. The chance for them to receive an equal narrative weight and taken seriously. Because the show, in the end, didn't follow through with Queliot, the queer fans feel baited. Queer baiting is a gross tactic to gain viewers and many queer fans are devastated for their trust to be betrayed in such a way. And this was a betrayal to queer audiences. Make no mistake, many queer fans will not be returning to see the show's fifth season.

Frankly, the Magicians has never had great queer representation. Eliot Waugh is really the only confirmed queer character and his storyline falls right into the unhappy gay man trope. In the first season, he has to kill off his fake boyfriend. In the second season, he's married off to a woman and essentially forbidden from sleeping with men. In the third season, we have A Life in the Day, which is then not acknowledged again for an entire season. Every other "queer rep" is literally a joke or not followed through. The amount of homophobia that runs through the show is a disappointment to fans who have identified with the queer characters. Sera Gamble and the other Magicians writers have made it perfectly clear how they feel about queer people and their storylines. This has been noted by the fans.

Further, the confirmation of Quentin's queerness and then his execution falls right into the Bury Your Gays trope. It falls right into the Hays Code and the idea that in order for queer people to exist on screen, there has to be negative consequences for being gay. Is this the kind of network SYFY wants to run? One that refuses to allow members of the LGBTQ community to be happy or to simply exist? Because by backing the choices the Magicians have made concerning their queer characters, that is what they have done. A large portion of the fantasy audience is queer people and yet we are continuously excluded from narrative, or included only to be killed off. 

This is also dangerous for viewers. According to the Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/preventing-suicide/facts-about-suicide/#sm.0001fud2yh6a9ctju2r22bg7t0dyo) queer youth are five times as likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth. It is practically an epidemic in the community, the taking of their lives because they aren't given space to exist in the world. And yet the Magicians just allowed their queer main character to kill himself. This has devastated the viewers who identified with Quentin for his mental illnesses but also his queerness. 

Sea Gamble and her team of writers can say that "not even the white man is safe" and claim that Quentin's death is "ground breaking" but this is not the case when the character is suicidal and queer. A mentally ill queer person killing themself isn't ground breaking, it's a devastating reality that too many face and capitalizing on that trauma for the sake of shock value is disgusting and frankly, unforgivable. No matter what the writer's intentions might have been are irrelevant, this is the message they have sent out to their audiences. 

The fans have real concerns about this and if their concerns are going to be acknowledged at all. There's a fear that we will be written off as complaining about shipping or not getting our way, when in reality it runs so much deeper. The Magicians writers broke the trust and spirits of their audiences, and the betrayal will effect ratings and viewer numbers. Is the network going to acknowledge these concerns and the damage done to their audiences? This is a much bigger deal than just some upset fans. This was a catastrophic blow and a slap to the face to an already marginalized audience.

Please understand that even though there is anger in my tone and in my heart, this is also coming from a place of love. The Magicians has deeply affected my life and changed me as a person, which is why this betrayal hurts so deeply. Many other fans feel the same way, and many of us are not returning to the fifth season. I cannot speak for the entire fan base, but some recognition and acknowledgement or damage control (and even an apology) would make the world of a difference for an entire fandom that was just stabbed in the back and shaken to their core. Ignoring this problem will only cause a drop in ratings and numbers and be a blow to the network itself.

Thank you for taking the time to read these concerns. 

[piccolina-mina]

My apologies @witchwolfmouse. I realized I kinda hijacked your post regarding M*ribel:

Y’all there’s room for people to ship Isobel/Maria and there is room for other people to be critical of the ship considering Isobel’s treatment of Maria and how deeply Maria dislikes Isobel because of how she treated Rosa... If you’re going to ship the two of them, considering what’s unfolded between the two of them onscreen thus far, then you’ve got to be prepared for some people not to be about it, especially fans of color and wlw of color and especially black fans who fall into either or both categories.

And I admittedly got in my feelings and droned on more than anticipated, so I made my reply into a post, since it was so long.

I'm ship and let ship. I have been that way from the beginning. The only reason I even became as vocal about shipping in this fandom in the first place was because of how unwelcoming it was for anyone who shipped anything alternative from the canon ships. There should be equal space for shipping and for those critical of it, and for a long time there wasn't equal space just all of one or the other depending on the ship.

Ironically, now it's slightly more equal but ridiculously divisive for silly reasons, but I digress.

I do think that an inability to take shipper goggles or whatever goggles off to actually understand certain criticisms about race and its relation to shipping, fandom, and within the show and how it's handled there has led to a lot of defensiveness by some who only see criticism as negative attacks, then respond in defense, which prompts defensive responses back and a host of others feeling genuinely invalidated and unheard, especially when what they are pointing out is skirted over.

There are genuine people who ship maribel, and hey, if you like it, I love it for you. I don't have to ship it or agree with it, but for those who genuinely love it, more power to them. Flood the tags for them. Make content.

Ironically, that's literally all I personally wanted from the beginning. Diversified content and discussions even if it's not my thing. By doing so, it makes me smile. It's all I ever wanted so it's not a nuisance for me personally.

Plus in this case, while I don't care for Isobel or the ship, I'll never say no to more Maria content. Fk it up!

Regarding M*ribel and discourse. To put it bluntly, and to go back to where some of the original friction and frustration stemmed in this fandom. The beauty of it is how much space there is to discuss in detail all angles of the amazing queer representation which I love, but the inability to discuss the race representation and issues and even the intersectional aspect of race and queerness, not without it always somehow stepping on the toes of queerness.

A wlw ship would be amazing. Hell, if it's done well, maybe this wlw ship could be amazing. Ship away, but also, please, know that someone criticizing it for legitimate reasons doesn't have to mean they are invalidating you or the wlw representation, especially when someone's criticism may be coming at it from an angle of a POC, or WOC, or QWOC who also feel invalidated. Quite damn often.

There are a lot of racial aspects of this show where despite the show's diversity, are very problematic or uncomfortable (a diverse cast does not mean all diverse issues disappear, if anything, it highlights them more so). And fans of color who voice them or have a different take than you should not have to be lambasted because they are approaching something from a different angle you may or may not have the experience with or know about.

LGBTQ fans some of whom may not be of color can look through their lenses of their own representation and what that means good or bad. But fans of color also do the same. We're always going to do the same. We can't shut that off as it's our identity and how we see the world through our experiences. Just like many of you, and those of both do it from both angles too.

There's a heterosexual bias willingly acknowledged frequently in fandom "the straights" or "the heteros" and that's fair and valid. Rarely does anyone enter the space and get pissy about that and not without being checked directly or indirectly. But you can't enter the tag and present something from a POC viewpoint or a WOC viewpoint without being directly or indirectly checked and often by people who honest to goodness aren't in the position to do so and show that based on how they choose to address or frame something.

Why? Why the "I don't see it that way so it must not be true?" Or "prove it or your lying" angle? Why do fans of color--too many to be dismissed as a fluke-- have to explain or otherwise be invalidated? That is what that is. Invalidation.

A racial bias being acknowledged or even a gender one makes people defensive or uncomfortable or unkind. That isn't fair. That isn't awesome.

And it has been a problem for a very long time.

Now if we're talking about m*ribel. Where some may see a wlw ship, a classic enemies to lovers ship, two beautiful women who could be something magical... Maria being in on the alien secret via Isobel... snarky personalities and sniding becoming something deeper ... hot hate sex ... two badass women who have been through some sh!t being a badass couple together... I do get the angle.

Where some people see that, I personally see a ship that makes me uncomfortable. I understand not everyone will see it as I do, and that's okay, as I said, ship and let ship.

But for me, when I think of Maribel, I think of Isobel violating Maria and her mind without her consent. I think of how disturbing it is that another woman did that to another woman without thinking about it as a violation (you don't have to agree, but much like what Noah did to Isobel at more extreme levels, it makes ME think of the rape and power dynamics and abuse dynamics).

I see someone who has had a total disregard for humans outside of her presumed husband violating them at will with powers she has yet to fully gain control of thus putting herself and those she violated at risk. I think of how unusual it is that she doesn't even have friends she hangs out with and doesn't know how to be one, or to be nurturing, or kind, or considerate.

And I don't know if I would like to see her with someone who is snarky and such, but also all of those things too. I see someone who is selfish in general and selfish in all of her relationships, and it's troubling (to me) when someone so inherently selfish is ever combined with someone who isn't because of how draining that is.

And to me, Isobel is the most selfish character with no give, and I don't care for the (far too common) trope of a black woman having to guide her into the light as a project and build her into a better person.

I think of an unfortunate history of women of color being violated not just by men but also white women that goes back centuries.

I see Isobel's total disregard for Maria's life and agency. I see Isobel's sense of entitlement she cannot seem to shake where she thinks she is entitled to Maria's acceptance and attention and her anger that Maria has the audacity to dislike her because apparently people are supposed to like her even when she treats almost everyone terribly. Which is a very subtle but very insidious barely noticeable dog whistle type of example most people of color can attest to as an example of white privilege.

I see someone who has clung to Maria specifically despising her on behalf of Rosa (and maribel shippers are welcome to interpret it as confirmation of a crush or attraction, and they can do so I understand that take, too) so much so that her primary reason for believing that Maria was an evil alien killer was the fact that Maria didn't like her nor as a psychic with legitimate abilities didn't allow Isobel to violate her.

The racial context of that scene alone was bothersome because of two cops jumping to a conclusion and sharing their theory with citizens with no concrete proof before speaking to their suspect (Maria) and using the word of a known racist and an entitled white woman with a grudge (Isobel) to support their theory, which if that doesn't parallel real life and how POC can find themselves at the mercy of the criminal justice system due to this, I don't know what is.

I see a woman who didn't have the slightest grasp of mind violation until she was violated by a brown man (who subsequently ended up being the presumed big bad of the season). That's what I see with M*ribel.

Where some shippers are able to see the chance for more LGBT rep and that's valid. I see troubling racial undertones that genuinely make me almost as uncomfortable as Noah and Isobel, and that too should be valid, and considered, and respected, and not dismissed, or misconstrued deliberately or otherwise.

There should be space for the criticism too, and the different takes, especially takes deeply rooted in another form of disenfranchisement. Just, consider and respect that sometimes. Not all fans of color will have the same take, we're all different people, so no one person can speak for the others, which means sometimes there will be opinions that differ on reasons that relate to race, and that's okay too.

From the first episode until now. Through Maria sidelining, and maricael/miluca shipping, and Malex angst, and Echo obstacles, and Liz decentralization, and the demonization of Noah, and Rosa injustice...through all of, there are things that should be discussed freely without being invalidated, dismissed, or made into something else.

There are many ways in which there will be race perspectives and things fans of color will present and ponder that other fans may not consider at all. And sometimes it will spill into something you like or enjoy, but those feelings especially about something so personal and specific and real ... even if you don't like them, or agree with them, or they make you uncomfortable or defensive, they matter too.

[problemsofabooknerd]

LGBTQIA+ BookTubers You Should Be Subscribed To

Pride Day 4!

Check out the intro to my Pride project here.

Here’s a thing you probably already know if you follow this blog: I’m a lesbian BookTuber! For the uninitiated, BookTube is a specific subset of YouTube that involves talking about all things bookish. You want reviews? Recommendations? Discussions? People screaming about their favorite new releases? That’s BookTube in a nutshell. But, when you first join the community, it can be a little harder to find LGBTQIA+ BookTubers. Fear not, we’re out there! And today I’m recommending my favorite channels run by some of my favorite humans. If you want a quick shorlist, I have already posted one of those, but this one will get more in-depth with the kind of videos these lovely people post, and the books they read. 

Perpetualpages - This channel is run by the amazing Adriana. If you want in-depth discussions of books (some that you probably have heard of, some that you haven’t) they are the person to follow. Adriana constantly highlights queer lit, Latinx lit, and so much other diverse content. You will never run out of recommendations, and every single video they post leaves me speechless as far as giving me new insights on books and media. Their discussion videos also always astound me, and are some of my favorite content on BookTube. 

WoolfsWhistle - Nicole is out here, ready to give you all the sapphic book recommendations you could ever need. Ok, she reads beyond sapphic content. In fact, plenty of variety as far as LGBTQIA+ content is on her channel, but I’ve also gotten some of my all-time favorite wlw books from recommendations in her videos. Her video, Summer Reads for Queer Ladies, is how I found her channel originally and its such a solid introduction to her content. Nicole also has a really excellent mix of books that are super hyped, as well as ones I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere else. 

Danika Leigh Ellis - In all likelihood, if you are into finding books with sapphic content, you’ve probably seen some of Danika’s writing already. She manages The Lesbrary, plus @biandlesbianliterature here on tumblr. AND she’s a Book Riot contributor. Honestly, if you are looking for any kind of book that features sapphic ladies, Danika is the person to go to. Her videos are just as informative and full of recommendations as her posts around the internet, and she’s all around a delightful human. Also, she created the LGBTQIA+ BookTube tag so go through this playlist and you will find lots of others who have done this video. 

The Boy Who Cried Books - Joseph is here to be queer and talk about queer lit. I actually first happened across his channel when he challenged himself to read nothing but queer books for a full year, and he documented that through a bunch of wrap ups and other videos. Check out that full playlist of Year of Queer videos here! Joseph is hilarious, and constantly highlighting books about queer and/or POC folks, so you should 100% be watching his channel.

Kayley Hyde - Kayley has been doing YouTube for like ten years which is kind of mind-boggling to me, but in more recent years her channel has become a bit more book focused. She’s super sweet, always talks about queer books - mostly contemporary, but plenty of other genres mixed in there as well. Plus, and this is only slightly unrelated, but she has the BEST instagram, and it is full of pictures of Kayley and her girlfriend that I gush over daily. 

Wish Fulfillment - Sylwia is one of my favorite people on the internet, and I cannot possibly gush enough about her. Her entire channel is super focused on so many forms of representation, from feminism to mental health to the queer community and more, and every wrap up features a super in-depth look at at least a couple of the books she’s read recently. She covers a wide variety of genres (and has said in the past it’s her goal to get into every genre out there), so there is a little something for every viewer. Sylwia is deeply supportive, incredibly smart, and I love every single piece of content she uploads. 

TeaLeavesandBookBindings - What’s fabulous about Ashley, at least for me, is that we read similar books, but I feel like Ashley always has something new to add about them that I didn’t think about, or she has a wildly different opinion that can really change my perspective. We can hype books together, and then have totally opposing opinions that I love to discuss with her. She also always brings variety to her content on YouTube and I adore that. Her Reading While Queer video series started right about the same time that Danika created the LGBTQIA+ BookTube Tag, and it is an utterly engaging mix of discussion of books, representation, and anger. She’s fabulous.

Iris Moon - I have been watching Iris’ channel since right around when I first joined BookTube, and it’s been amazing to watch them grow as a reader, as a reviewer, and as a person. They’ve always been super academic and intriguing with their reviews (the thing that initially drew me to their channel) and I have constantly found totally unexpected books through their wrap ups and recommendations. They also created the Representation Book Tag, which Iris tagged me to do as well and I promise it will happen soon, but it’s fantastic and super enlightening so check that out!

DylantheReader5 - If you’re anywhere on book Twitter, you must have seen Dylan by now. I mean, he’s everywhere. Also, I adore him, just putting that out there. Dylan reads primarily contemporary, mostly emotional contemporary, mystery, and romance. He’s also mega friendly, hilarious, and I spend most of my life sad we live far away so I can’t hug him. It’s a disaster on geography’s part. But if you aren’t already watching his videos, fix that right this second! 

Things Lucy Reads - Luce is another BookTuber I feel like I’ve been watching for years! I feel like she’s one of those OG queer BookTubers that has been doing the work for so long, and I live for it. The BookTube Code of Silence videos remains one of my all-time favorites in terms of rep and how we discuss it online, but overall Luce constantly recommends incredible underrated books. Plus I never get tired of her Star Wars content.

xreadingsolacex - Kav!! Is such a gift to our community! I adore their videos, their frank and honest discussion of books, and the recommendations I get from their channel, but honestly Kav is a delightful part of bookish internet in every sense. They’re always cheering people on in the comments (sometimes I get a comments blast from Kav and I get super emotional about it), and they also talk so extensively online about representation, the book community, and how we all can constantly be doing better. Truly, I love them in every way and you should too.

That’s it for the channel highlights! There are lots more LGBTQIA+ BookTubers out there for you to find beyond this list, I promise. You could be watching Riley Marie, Ben Alderson, TheHufflePuffleBooks, jennaclarek, Winx & Ink, TheIrishReader, Pucksandpaperbacks, George Lester, and Peter Likes Books. Also check out this playlist by Danika of Queer Women Booktubers! Alright, that’s all from me today, but be sure to check back tomorrow if you’re looking for some queer SFF.

[medicswiththeo]

All Eyes on Pharma Reps: The Myths, The Pressure, The Rewards

“At the end of the day, when I think that somewhere in my territory there is a patient whose life has been improved because of a product I promote, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling and a deep sense of personal satisfaction.”

— Corey Nahman, CEO, I

Pharmaceutical companies impact just about every American’s life. Our country is home to approximately 67,000 pharmacies, and according to a Mayo Clinic study, seven out of ten people in the United States take at least one prescription drug. From testing to production to selling to prescription, a medical product’s journey is complex and involves countless professionals.

The most significant of these professionals? For drug companies that want to stay in business, the answer is easy: sales reps. A pharma rep’s job is demanding, intricate, and at times exhausting. It requires specialized training in pharmacology as well as comprehensive knowledge of subject matters as diverse as biology and sales techniques. Succeeding as a pharma rep also takes a great deal of perseverance – not only to get the job done, but also to withstand misconceptions and misguided stereotyping.

Challenges and myths

If you’ve ever seen a pharma company hosting a banquet-room lunch for doctors and formed the assumption that pharma sales can be bought, think again. The complex relationship between reps and doctors is often incorrectly regarded as a quid-pro-quo system that starts with drug companies providing free meals and paid speaking engagements to doctors in exchange for those doctors prescribing their products. While it’s true that a strategy’s at work here, it’s not designed to woo. It’s about time – which, as we know all too well, doctors have very little of.

Often, coffee or a meal is the only avenue for pharma reps to get in front of a doctor. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of doctors won’t promote a drug they don’t like or believe in. So what’s actually happening at these lunches? The real answer is that salespeople and doctors are coming together to build a partnership focused on determining the best therapy options for patients.

That may sound like a lofty goal for a salesperson, and it is. That’s due not only to the stress of the sales process itself, but also because attaining and retaining a position is no walk in the park.

Many pharma reps come to the job with a background in chemistry, biology, or premed. According to the Princeton Review, pharma companies commonly demand that their sales employees have an advanced degree in the medical field. During their initial years in the industry, they often take advanced courses in pharmacology to deepen their knowledge of their company’s product line. Doing so helps them convey complex scientific and medical concepts in accessible language.

Reps may also have to learn how to interpret data and statistics so as to gain an understanding of both public and private health issues. As a primary source of information for doctors, they have to be prepared to discuss various diseases and new clinical studies, stay up to date with the competition, and thoroughly explain the qualities that make their product better than the competition.

In short, every last one of them has to become a trusted member of the local medical community.

The intensity, the intellectual challenge, and the satisfaction of helping patients may be just what draws people to this career. “You cannot get discouraged doing a job like this,” says James Bowden, a pharmaceutical sales specialist. “After all, by filling the shoes of a pharmaceutical representative, you bring a great added value to a physician and his or her patients through the drug products that you promote. Do not let anyone else tell you otherwise. That is why I’m doing what I love the most, and that is helping people live longer, healthier, and an overall better quality of life.”

In the best of all worlds, pharma reps are driven by an innate passion for the profession, and they find jobs with companies that value their unique skills and ability to build long-lasting relationships with doctors. But we don’t live in an ideal world, which means that reps’ financial satisfaction is a vital consideration.

A pharma rep’s earnings are 20-30% commission-based – a far higher rate than you’ll find in other industries. But the market is highly competitive – so much so that a “pay for performance” cult has developed and begun to take hold across other sales verticals. Recent HBR research shows that the number of companies offering bonuses or other forms of pay based on performance increased by 6% between 2014 and 2016 alone.

That sounds like great news for pharma reps, right? All they need to do in order to earn financial rewards is hit quota on a regular basis.

Of course, that isn’t as easy as it sounds. With quotas often set at unachievable heights, pharma reps are flying on a wing and prayer. Less than half will succeed – which means the majority will fail.

As you might imagine, failure is not a great bedfellow for reps, who tend to thrive on success; failure leads to frustration and loss of interest in selling your product. If you’re in a leadership position, you can avert such a scenario by instituting business processes that ensure goals are challenging but achievable – present and future – even during periods of enormous change.

How? With the right technology, for one. Advanced technology enables accurate quota management, balanced territory design, and – most importantly – forward-thinking comp plans that tap into your people’s inner motivations.

Gamification, for instance, appeals to salespeople’s competitive spirit. Visibility into individual and team performance will also light a fire beneath them; it’s empowering for reps to have access to sales and call-planning insights that indicate which doctors or institutions are likely to be most receptive to their overtures. Proper visibility also helps reps decide which doctors and institutions would benefit from more visits – and which would not. Add on a bonus calculator, which should be included with any truly robust technology solution, and reps can capitalize on these insights by projecting how much they can increase their earnings. When reps feel inspired to maximize their compensation, the company is simultaneously rewarded with better bottom-line performance.

But technology is only as good as the people who implement and use it. That means it’s vital to bring in expert staff who know their way around the tech and can help you utilize it to its full potential. These experts can conduct ongoing analyses of processes, continually gain and share insight, and cement improvement and revenue growth as an integral part of your company culture.

[indigenousgov]

In case you missed this lively discussion moderated by the Director of the Harvard Project, Professor Joe Kalt, and featuring a diverse panel of Congressional and Tribal leaders, please click above to watch.

Several participants submitted questions to the panel, and below are responses from panelist President Shelley Buck from Prairie Island Indian Community.

QUESTION #1:  For communities that were unprepared for online-work and online-learning -- What have you done to help people get online and stay online? Are you using CARES Act funds to build more infrastructure? What about more immediate solutions? Has the FCC been helpful, and how could they be better?

RESPONSE:  A few years ago we worked with HBC (a company in MN) to get fiber optics put in on the reservation. This has provided those living on the reservation to have high speed internet for a few years.

QUESTION #2:  Slightly off topic - How did the July Supreme Court ruling regarding Native Land in the Creek Reservation in Oklahoma impact your reservations, communities and land governance?

RESPONSE:  The benefits of the McGirt decision should resound for years to come in jurisdictions all over the nation, however, it is unnerving that it was a 5-4 decision to simply apply pre-existing Supreme Court precedence. Nonetheless, the decision makes clear that when it comes to reservations and tribal lands, Courts must focus on what Congress actually did or did not do, instead of non-textual, subsequent factors.

In our case, the federal government has for many decades flooded the Prairie Island Reservation, endangering our people, our homes, and our tribal businesses -- all without the consent of Congress and without compensation to our Tribe. The McGirt decision underscores that where Congress has not explicitly acted to disestablish a reservation (or in our case, alienate tribal property rights subsequent illegal governmental acts aren’t sufficient to do so. In the words of Justice Gorsuch, “Unlawful acts, performed long enough and with sufficient vigor, are never enough to amend the law.”

QUESTION #3:  Good afternoon, Rep. Davis and all the distinguished panelists. My name is Quentin, and I’m an intern on the Senate side. I want to know if any of you could speak to what specifically tribal leaders are doing well (from the discussion so far - it seems like numerous native peoples and their governments are doing a number of things well) and what specifically the federal government and state and local governments can learn from the successes of tribal governments when it comes to covid-19 management and resource usage.

RESPONSE:  As we have seen around Indian Country, many tribes have taken an aggressive approach to protecting against COVID-19 entering into communities from the outside (closing boundaries, mandating masks, etc.). Often aggressive measures are necessary because how woefully underfunded our healthcare systems are. Preventing an outbreak is critical. We think that those states taking a less restrictive approach should learn from the tribes that have had success with a very comprehensive COVID-19 government response.

QUESTION #4:  Thank you sincerely to each leader speaking on concerns centering public health and economic challenges and disparities. I’m wondering about education-specific concerns. How are tribal nations responding to education concerns for young people and their support systems? (pre K-12, TCUs, community educators, etc.)

RESPONSE:  Here are Prairie Island we are VERY proud to have a great support system for our kids in their education. We invest much of our resources to this cause as we believe it is a solid foundation to setting up our children for success. We have experienced 90-98% High School Graduation rate year over year and roughly 65-70% go on to college and beyond. During this time we have increased tutor support, and are attempting to make sure that all children have what they need for remote learning.

QUESTION #5:  Please help me understand the obstacles to spending the funds in the required time limit.

RESPONSE:  The first issue with spending the funds by the current deadline of December 30th, 2020 is the face that the Treasury department really fumbled the implementation of getting the funds out to Tribes. Tribes waited many weeks after the deadline for Treasury to get the funds out to Tribes, so right out the gate the Tribes were already weeks behind state and local governments that received CRF money. Furthermore, the struggle with finding suitable “allowed uses” for the Coronavirus Relief Fund monies is the lack of clarity and transparency from the Treasury department in their ever-changing guidance documents. Tribal leaders are running government operations in addition to dealing with the pandemic, and given the failure of trust responsibilities for years, there are many needs to address that cannot all be tackled within an abbreviated timeframe. As we see, COVID-19 isn’t anticipated to have a deadline of December 31, 2020. So why should our ability to use funds to combat its effects?

QUESTION #6:  Today, many of the discussions regarding our current public health and economic situation revolve around what should be done now (e.g. increased funding for tribal communities, more flexibility in the use of funds, etc.). Understandably, considerations for what happens post-COVID-19 are not being emphasized as much right now. What are some ways in which COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on politics within tribes, relationships between tribes and state governments, economic structures in tribes, and the overall culture both within and towards tribes?

RESPONSE:  We will continue to feel the effects of COVID-19 for the years to come. Thankfully in Minnesota the COVID pandemic has really brought Tribes and the state closer in many aspects. We hold regular calls/zoom meetings with state officials and agencies, multiple times a week. They understand the disproportionate affect that this virus is having on our Tribal Communities and are working hard to understand and respond to our needs.

QUESTION #7:  On a personal level what drives the tribe leaders, given the unacceptable and frustrating lack of direction and support by the Federal government? I’m not sure I would have the fortitude to do this work.

RESPONSE:  What drives me is honoring my ancestors. Our ancestors suffered and sacrificed so much so we could have what we have today. I am also driven to make sure our future generations are taken care of. It is not always easy work, but if you continue to use the tools that are given to you by your culture, it helps to keep you grounded.

QUESTION #8:  Besides voting, what specifically can we as citizens do to support the indigenous tribes during COVID and beyond?

RESPONSE:  Moving forward, Tribes need to continue to network with each other, build solid relationships and come together to fight for our common goals. We all need to realize that we are together in this. If you can help another Tribe in anyway, you should do so. Tribal citizens should remain actively engaged in their tribal governments, and come together as communities to reach common goals. Non-tribal citizens should continue to engage with local tribal communities, and educate themselves on the issues pressing and oppressing the tribal nations. Encourage local, state and federal leaders, and business leaders as well to partner with tribal nations to problem solve.

[sportsconvergence]

Three Names in an Envelope - 2019 Edition

The University of South Carolina does not have an opening for head football coach.

Yet.

Will Muschamp has made changes in his coaching staff, bringing in Mike Bobo to take over the offense. While most Gamecock fans hope this will lead to more wins, history tells us changes like these rarely result in quantum leaps forward in on-the-field results.  Barring a dramatic turnaround in 2020, it is conceivable that the Garnet and Black will be looking to make a coaching change.

With that in mind, it is time to revisit the “Three Names in an Envelope” discussion.

As a reminder, this is based on the principle in athletic circles that ADs should always have an envelope in their desk with three names – three coaches you would immediately target if your current one leaves or needs to be replaced.  That list of names is always subject to change, of course, as you learn more about potential replacements or they are picked up by another program.

Parenthetically, I am assuming if a change is made in Columbia after the 2020 season, the person making the hire will not be Ray Tanner. He is standing by Muschamp and their fates will be tied together.  That is admirable in a day and age where loyalty seems less common. However, if Muschamp is canned, Tanner will as well.

As was the case in 2015, the USC administration has to decide where they want the football program to go.  Do they want someone who is going to produce winning seasons and bowl games every year, or do they want someone who will take the program to elite status (SEC Championships and playoff contention)?  

Frankly, South Carolina does not have the money to chase elite status, at least right now.  In the spirit of “walk before you run”, the immediate focus should be on putting the program on a consistent “winning season and bowl bid every year” footing before contemplating loftier goals.  

Beyond that, there are some other principles to keep in mind for the next Gamecock football coach:

Do not waste a lot of time chasing a “big name” -- you can make calls to reps of the big names just in case a Frank Martin lands in your lap, but do this concurrently with your other searching.  Nevertheless, the following criteria apply to “big names” as well as less heralded candidates.

Hire a proven winner as a head coach with demonstrated ability for good game planning, in-game adjustments, and teams improving as the season progresses.

Hiring a good recruiter is an absolute necessity – But he cannot have established his recruiting chops at a school with built-in advantages South Carolina does not have (e.g., big name, previous championships, only school in the state, etc.)

The new guy has to be a cultural fit – He needs to be able to relate to SC high school coaches and Gamecock Club members. Experience coaching in the South will be very important here.

No “redemption” projects.  Been there, done that.

This hire has to be universally viewed as an upgrade.

So, with all this in mind, which three names do I think should be in the USC Athletic Director’s envelope?

Scott Satterfield (Louisville) – Satterfield inherited a nice team at Appalachian State and turned it into a Group of Five power.  He also took a two-win Louisville to seven wins in one season.  His offense is simple to execute, but maddening to stop and he has shown a remarkable ability to turn unheralded players into all-stars. Moreover, he is a stand-up guy who would be a good cultural fit in Columbia.  The only question is would he be willing to leave Louisville after only two years?

Billy Napier (Louisiana) – Napier is an up and comer in coaching circles.  The Furman graduate has lots of Power 5 experience and learned a lot from Saban during his time at Alabama.  He also knows South Carolina, having coached at South Carolina State and at Clemson. Plus, he may want to settle a score with Dabo, who fired him as offensive coordinator after one bad season. He has done a great job at Louisiana, taking the Ragin’ Cajuns to two consecutive Sun Belt Championship games. Napier is going to wind up with a Power Five job soon (I’m actually surprised that he did not get one this cycle).

Will Healy (Charlotte) – If you are going to take a chance on someone, the 36-year old Healy may just be the guy.  He is a high-energy coach who has demonstrated a “Midas touch” at both of his head coaching stops so far (Austin Peay and Charlotte).  A tireless recruiter and a coach who has shown a willingness to make gutsy calls during games.  I would take a long look at him.

There are other names that some might mention, but one wild card option to keep in mind is Jeff Monken at Army.  He previously coached (well) at Georgia Southern and he is buddies with current USC President Caslen.  He does run the option, which no one else does in the SEC.  It’s an intriguing thought, but not “envelope worthy” at this point.

[brassring2020]

AYA Analytica financial health memo February 2019

As of February 2019, this regular podcast is available on our Andy Yeh Alpha fintech network platform.

AYA Analytica finbuzz podcast channel on YouTube February 2019

AYA Analytica free finbuzz podcast provides fresh insights into the latest stock market news, economic trends, and investment portfolio strategies.

In this podcast, we discuss several topical issues as of February 2019: (1) our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms S&P 500 and MSCI; (2) the Trump team makes progress on Sino-U.S. trade negotiations; (3) Trump signs a compromise deal to avert another government shutdown; (4) Federal Reserve remains patient on future interest rate increases; (5) U.S. wealth inequality rises to pre-Great-Depression levels.

New York Fed CEO John Williams sees no need to raise the interest rate unless economic growth or inflation rises to a high gear.

New York Fed CEO John Williams sees no need to raise the interest rate unless economic growth or inflation rises to a high gear. After raising the interest rate 7 times since early-2017 to 2.25%-2.5%, the Federal Reserve now keeps the economically neutral federal funds rate. This neutral interest rate helps restore healthy economic growth on the steady-state trajectory with low inflation when the economy operates near full employment. As of January 2019, the U.S. CPI inflation rate declines from 1.9% to 1.6% slightly below the 2% target level as the U.S. unemployment rate continues to hover around the 3.7% historically low level. As New York Fed CEO and Federal Reserve Vice Chair, Williams considers the current neutral interest rate to be in a good place. This current monetary policy stance accords with the congressional dual mandate of both price stability and maximum employment. After the most recent FOMC rate-hike holiday, Federal Reserve governors and presidents indicate their clear intention that it may be about time to end their 3-year drive to tighten monetary policy due to a cloudy U.S. economic outlook. This cloudy economic outlook arises from several complications such as the Sino-U.S. trade and government budget negotiations.

Chicago financial economist Raghuram Rajan views communities as the third pillar of liberal democracy.

Chicago financial economist Raghuram Rajan views communities as the third pillar of liberal democracy in addition to states and markets. Rajan suggests that communities serve as an indispensable part of a healthy economic society in stark contrast to a major source of market frictions (which may inhibit the smooth operation of the global economy). In recent times, both Brexit and the electoral successes of Donald Trump have shaken the dismal science. Prominent economists begin to consider what can constitute an efficient response to regional economic inequality. For instance, Lawrence Summers and his co-authors empirically find that both employment subsidies and tax credits should target U.S. regions with more elastic labor participation.

As markets and states interact with socioeconomic webs of human relations, values, and norms, technological phase shifts tend to rip markets out of those old webs with populist backlashes throughout human history. Socioeconomic interactions eventually gravitate toward a new equilibrium with a messy and arduous transition. When markets and states scale up, political clout and economic power concentrate in vibrant hubs that prosper to the detriment of peripheral communities. Democracy preserves market competition, and market competition preserves democracy. Rajan proposes strengthening communities as an antidote to new socioeconomic challenges.

Apple shakes up senior leadership to initiate a new transition from iPhone revenue reliance to media and software services.

Apple shakes up senior leadership to initiate a smooth transition from iPhone revenue reliance to media and software services. These changes include the recent promotion of John Giannandrea to senior vice president with primary focus on machine-learning artificial intelligence. After his promotion, Giannandrea moves Bill Stasior, Head of Siri, to a lower role at the company. In terms of high-profile departures, Apple retail chief manager Angela Ahrendts decides to leave the company for greener pastures. These 3 major senior leadership changes take place within the current quarter 2019Q1. In addition to these personnel updates, Apple trims about 200 employees from its autonomous vehicle project, and continues to redirect its engineering resources into the media services ahead of the next launch of TV video content curation by 2020. HR reorganizations shift Apple operational focus from iPhone revenue reliance to media and software services. On balance, these services are likely to generate about $50 billion in sales by 2020 and may account for more than 60% of Apple revenue growth in the next 5 years.

A top Taiwanese Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, predicts the next phase that Apple will launch 3 brand-new mobile design devices in the fiscal year of 2019-2020. Kuo is well-known for accurately predicting Apple product launches and their probable revenue and profit forecasts. These products include a new MacBook Pro laptop with either a 16-inch or 16.5-inch display, a new 31.6-inch monitor with 6,144x3,072 resolution, and a Mac Pro desktop computer. Kuo believes Apple will release 2 new iPad Pros in 2019, a new iPad Mini, and a new regular iPad to replace the 9.7-inch model with a larger 10.2-inch screen. Also, Kuo indicates that Apple will unveil 3 new iPhones. The flagship iPhones have 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED screens, and the more affordable iPhone has a 6.1-inch LCD screen. These iPhones may come with bigger batteries, better Face ID and wireless navigation, and frosty-glass cases. With respect to AirPods, Kuo suggests that Apple will launch a new model with wireless charging capability and better Bluetooth in 2019H1. As Apple transforms its organizational focus from iPhone revenue reliance into both product differentiation and media service diversification, the new Apple income structure can translate both flagship iPhones and non-iPhone mobile design devices into better topline and bottomline figures. We can expect to see greater operational synergies from these key changes in Apple senior leadership and product and service provision.

U.S. economic inequality increases to pre-Great-Depression levels.

U.S. economic inequality increases to pre-Great-Depression levels. Berkeley economics professor Gabriel Zucman empirically finds that the top 0.1% richest adults own about 25% of total household wealth in America (in accordance with a similar economic inequality situation back in the 1920s). When we broaden the core definition of the upper socioeconomic echelon, the top 1% richest households own 40% of total national wealth as of 2016. This high household wealth share compares with the 25%-30% thresholds back in the 1980s. Over the past 3 decades, the bottom 90% wealth share has significantly declined in similar proportions. Russia is the only comparable country with similar wealth inequality. The current Zucman empirical study resonates with the main themes of persistent global economic inequality in the recent book, Capital in the new century, written by Thomas Piketty. The root causes of U.S. economic inequality include information technology adoption, elite education, talent concentration, and high-skill human capital shortage. The government can design affordable college and graduate school education for all young adults to better prepare for their future vocational pursuits. More ubiquitous information technology adoption allows fresh talents to better appreciate the knowledge productivity gains from smart data analysis, robotic automation, and artificial intelligence etc.

President Trump is open to extending the March 2019 deadline for raising tariffs on Chinese imports.

President Trump is open to extending the March 2019 deadline for raising tariffs on Chinese imports if both sides are close to mutual agreement. These bilateral negotiations hinge on how both governments can enforce the Sino-U.S. trade pledges. U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He demonstrate credible progress on the top trade issues between China and America: perennial Sino-U.S. trade deficit and intellectual property protection. Several economic commentators suggest that it should be relatively easy for China to buy more American goods to help eradicate the current bilateral trade imbalance. These goods include U.S. aircrafts, automobiles, soya beans, and software products etc. However, it may be rather difficult for the Trump administration to monitor-and-enforce the defensive protection of U.S. intellectual properties such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The latter perennial dilemma remains a relevant and important issue in the current round of Sino-U.S. bilateral trade negotiations. If both sides cannot deliver mutual agreement on a sound and reasonable trade deal before the March 2019 deadline, the Trump administration may decide to impose 25% tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods and services. President Trump may choose to extend the deadline when he receives mutual assurance that both sides are close to delivering a trade deal to avert the trade war when these negotiations come to fruition in time. Most U.S. stock market benchmarks such as S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq reap 2%-3% healthy gains as investor optimism stokes over high hopes that both the bilateral diplomats and negotiators can work together to iron out a mutually beneficial trade deal. Meanwhile, benign U.S. CPI inflation data suggest that the Federal Reserve would maintain steady interest rates in the foreseeable future. Across Wall Street, the economic consensus view suggests another 2 interest rate hikes in the fiscal year of 2019-2020. These recent macro milestones mark the new age of international economic policy uncertainty under the Trump administration. Tax cuts trump trade, and greater government expenditures and capital investments help revamp U.S. public infrastructure, high-skill education, and better border security and immigration. Pervasive information technology adoption can help augment both capital investment and human capital accumulation to cause greater long-term productivity growth. This widespread positive externality can lead to healthy spillovers and network effects in light of significant improvements in real macroeconomic indicators such as national income per capita, employment, capital investment, and R&D innovation.

President Trump may reluctantly sign the congressional border wall deal in order to avert another U.S. government shutdown.

President Trump may reluctantly sign the congressional border wall deal in order to avert another U.S. government shutdown. With his executive power to declare a national emergency, President Trump expresses his displeasure with this compromise, but he has to accept the $1.4 billion border wall deal. House and Senate negotiators tentatively reach a border security agreement in principle to avoid another partial government shutdown. Several commentators view this presidential ploy as a risky maneuver that may open the Pandora box of future challenges both in court and in Congress. The Trump administration seeks alternative public finance to fund the $5 billion southern border wall. This flagship immigration reform reflects the fact that President Trump faces political opposition from House Democrats with respect to public finance. This public finance standoff may exacerbate the current U.S. fiscal budget deficit. In accordance with the Sargent-Wallace unpleasant monetarist arithmetic principle, the monetary authority would need to allow greater money supply growth (or inflation) in the form of higher seigniorage taxes if the fiscal authority continues to fund the budget deficit with incessant public bond issuance. In this light, the congressional border wall deal has profound policy implications for fiscal equilibrium as well as monetary price stability.

Corporate America uses Trump tax cuts and offshore cash stockpiles primarily to fund share repurchases for better stock market valuation.

Corporate America uses Trump tax cuts and cash stockpiles primarily to fund share repurchases for better stock market valuation. Share repurchases are a ubiquitous payout practice where public corporations buy back their own shares to return excess capital to most shareholders. Share repurchases boost stock demand and so artificially inflate EPS concentration. U.S. public companies initiate $1 trillion share repurchases in the fiscal year of 2018-2019. In contrast, business investments and job opportunities decelerate as a result. Rather than spending billions on share repurchases, U.S. public corporations would help society more by reinvesting in profitable projects, plants, and high-skill human resources etc. For instance, Apple spends more than $30 billion on share repurchases in the fiscal year of 2018-2019. Apple also plans to pay $38 billion in taxes on offshore cash repatriation with 20,000 new jobs and $30 billion domestic capital investments in the next 5 years. Several economic pundits and experts suggest that share repurchases disproportionately help the rich because the top 10% income earners own about 80% of U.S. stocks. This negative feedback loop self-perpetuates and exacerbates income and wealth inequality as the rich reap rewards on their stock market bets to the detriment of the middle class.

Apple provides positive forward guidance on both revenue and profit forecasts for iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.

Apple provides positive forward guidance on both revenue and profit forecasts for iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. Over the Christmas 2018 season, MacBook revenue grows 9%; iPad sales climb 17%; and wearable devices such as Apple Watch and AirPods surge by an impressive 50% growth margin. Apple reports the first holiday-quarter revenue decline since 2001 primarily because the pricey iconic iPhone X handsets experience a 15% decrease in global sales. As Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers the non-iPhone revenue results to spark a hefty 4% relief rally in the tech stock market, Apple regains the title of the most valuable U.S. corporation well beyond Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. With respect to media services, Apple points to the substantial increase in Apple Pay and Apple Music worldwide usage. The number of global service subscriptions is likely to top half a billion by 2020 (up from 360 million now). Apple completes several M&A deals such as the music recognition app Shazam and the digital news provider Texture with the grand ambition of quadrupling revenue from media services by 2022. Without specifying techy details in Apple media services, Cook suggests that the tech titan expects to expand its original video content business in the foreseeable future.

President Trump picks David Malpass to run the World Bank to curb international multilateralism.

President Trump chooses David Malpass to run the World Bank to curb international multilateralism. The Trump administration seems to prefer bilateral negotiations for favorable fiscal budgets and trade deals. The World Bank serves the core mission of extending $10+ billion loans to low-income countries to fund investment projects from global markets. A close competitor is the Chinese Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank that uses dollar diplomacy to win allies without stringent concessions (which the World Bank often would require due to multilateral involvement). Justin Sandefur, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, suggests that Malpass shows disdain for the World Bank mission of fighting global poverty just as John Bolton, U.S. national security advisor, shows respect for numerous U.N. endeavors. The recent nomination of David Malpass as World Bank president threatens an implicit multilateral agreement that the U.S. appoints the head of the World Bank while the European Union appoints the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current IMF head, Christine Lagarde, is a former French finance minister and warns against the Sino-American trade war, which may be detrimental to the long-term global economic revival. The Malpass appointment may tilt the delicate balance from E.U. multilateral agreement toward U.S. dominance.

President Trump delivers his second state-of-the-union address to U.S. Congress.

President Trump delivers his second state-of-the-union address to U.S. Congress. Several main themes emerge from this presidential address. First, President Trump praises the current 2-year U.S. economic boom and stock market rally. As Trump remains upbeat about the current U.S. economic outlook, several sectors such as big pharma, transport, and technology benefit much from the current stock market rally. Second, the Trump administration seeks a bipartisan solution to public finance for his southern border wall for better immigration. President Trump may find it difficult to compromise on this fiscal issue in the near-term. Third, Trump aims to implement a structural change to unfair trade practices and chronic trade imbalances in the current trade war resolution with China. The next summit between Presidents Trump and Xi can reach trade war resolution soon after Trump shakes hands with the North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un in the historic conference in Vietnam in late-February 2019. Fourth, Trump asks Congress to pass the current bill for modern infrastructure with more than $1 trillion public finance. Fifth, Trump vows to help reduce astronomical medical costs and drug prices in America. Through his second state-of-the-union address, President Trump now seeks to make progress on these socioeconomic issues.

President Trump remains optimistic about the Sino-American trade war resolution.

President Trump remains optimistic about the Sino-U.S. trade war resolution of both trade deficit eradication and tech transfer enforcement. Trump now seeks to enact new economic sanctions with 25% tariffs on Chinese goods and services if the Chinese Xi administration cannot agree to help reduce the U.S. $375 billion bilateral trade deficit. President Trump suggests a handshake deal instead of a firmer trade agreement when he meets President Xi soon after the second summit between Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un in Vietnam later in February 2019. The Trump trade team continues to be optimistic about the next Sino-U.S. trade war resolution of both better trade balance and tech transfer enforcement. Trump economic advisors indicate that it is easier for China to buy more American products such as soybeans, cars, and aircrafts etc in order to reduce the current Sino-U.S. trade imbalance. However, it can be difficult for the Trump administration to strictly enforce complete, verifiable, and irreversible protection of U.S. intellectual properties such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The latter chronic problem persists for years because it is virtually impossible for the U.S. government to meter unfair intellectual property infringement by Chinese tech firms such as HuaWei.

Federal Reserve remains patient on future interest rate adjustments due to trade and fiscal budget negotiations.

Federal Reserve remains patient on future interest rate increases due to global headwinds and impasses over trade and government budget negotiations. Fed Chair Jerome Powell pledges that future interest rate adjustments react to generic macroeconomic conditions. Patience is a virtue. U.S. economic history suggests that the federal funds rate tends to peak in the reasonable range of 5.5%-6.5%. In contrast, several eminent economists such as former Fed Chairs Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke suggest that we may enter a new era of persistently low interest rates. This putative scenario can be good news for debtors such as U.S. households and federal government, the latter of which now carries about $16 trillion public debt. The same putative scenario may become bad news for most retirees who live off meager interest income on their deposits and annuities. This low-interest-rate environment can continue to inflate asset prices. As a result, U.S. stocks soar in response to the dovish monetary policy stance with balance sheet flexibility. As the Federal Reserve keeps the interest rate in the target range of 2.25%-2.5%, the trade-weighted average U.S. dollar index slips to 91%. This recent greenback depreciation reflects a major reversal of U.S. credit flows in comparison to the 95% dollar peak back in January 2017.

It can be practical for the U.S. to impose the 2% Warren wealth tax on the rich.

It can be practical for the U.S. to impose the 2% Warren wealth tax on the rich. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren proposes a 2% wealth tax on the richest Americans with more than $50 million in total assets. For the even richer Americans with more than $1 billion total assets, the wealth tax should rise to 3%. This radical tax proposal may help raise almost $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion in a decade, although this proposal affects only less than 0.1% of American households in accordance with the fiscal estimates of Berkeley economic advisor Emmanuel Saez. On one hand, this wealth tax can help reduce economic inequality in America by closing the wealth gap between the rich and the middle class. At the same time, this wealth redistribution can promote better social mobility as the rich Americans may find it difficult to transfer their socioeconomic advantages to the next generation via business ownership, education, and political power. On the other hand, this wealth tax proposal helps fight tax evasion by wealthy Americans who might try to renounce their U.S. citizenship by tunneling funds abroad. This proposal is now subject open debate and controversy as the American consensus tilts toward progressive taxation.

The Trump administration teams up with western allies to bar HuaWei and other Chinese tech firms.

The Trump administration teams up with western allies to bar HuaWei and other Chinese tech firms from building the 5G ultra-high speed infrastructure due to national economic security concerns. Justice Department unseals a pair of cases against HuaWei. The first indictment accuses HuaWei of trying to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile by promising obscene bonuses to employees who would collect confidential information on telecom competitors. The second indictment suggests that HuaWei might have worked to skirt U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. Robert Williams, executive director at Yale Law School and former consultant to the U.S. State Department, suggests that these criminal investigations should not be viewed as part of the current Sino-American trade negotiations because the U.S. law enforcement takes place well in advance of bilateral trade discussions. The Trump administration now asks its western allies from Britain and Canada to France and Germany to ban HuaWei and Ant Financial Group from getting access to critical technologies such as 5G high-speed telecom networks, fintech payment solutions, smart sensors, and autonomous robots and vehicles. This case indicates potential fraud on the part of HuaWei CFO and so sends a negative signal that China might rip off American tech firms with chronic trade deficits and unfair tech transfer practices.

Our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms the major stock market benchmarks such as S&P 500, MSCI, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq.

Our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms the major stock market benchmarks such as S&P 500, MSCI, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq. We implement our proprietary alpha investment model for positive U.S. stock signals. A complete model description is available on our AYA fintech network platform. Our U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) online publication is available on the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) official website. Every freemium member can sign up for free to check out our proprietary alpha signals on our AYA fintech network platform. Each freemium member can thus learn from these proprietary alpha signals over time. The proprietary alpha investment model estimates long-term average abnormal returns for U.S. individual stocks and then ranks these stocks in accordance with their dynamic conditional alpha signals. Several virtual members follow these dynamic conditional alpha signals to trade U.S. stocks on our AYA fintech network platform.

We track the stock prices and returns for the recent 2-year period from early-February 2017 to early-February 2019. This data span allows us to conduct an out-of-sample test to assess our proprietary alpha investment model performance in comparison to the major stock market benchmarks such as S&P 500, MSCI, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq etc. S&P 500 yields an 8.5% net overall return per annum (NORPA) while Dow Jones and Nasdaq generate 11.6%-13.4% NORPAs. MSCI stock market benchmarks deliver 2.5%-8.9% NORPAs (MSCI USA, MSCI World, MSCI Europe, and MSCI Asia). With our proprietary alpha investment model, all of our virtual members from Chanel Holden and Charlene Vos to Jonah Whanau and Joseph Corr outperform the S&P 500 and MSCI stock market benchmarks with 10.3%-21.9% NORPAs (cf. the above tabular results for all net overall returns per annum (NORPAs)). In fact, 12 of the 17 virtual stock portfolios deliver higher NORPAs than Dow Jones; and 9 of the 17 virtual stock portfolios yield higher NORPAs than Nasdaq. The recent double-digits model performance corroborates the scientific fact that our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms almost all of the major stock market benchmarks.

Our recent research suggests that the proprietary alpha investment model captures dynamism in several fundamental factors such as size, value, momentum, asset growth, operating profitability, and market risk exposure (cf. Fama-French fundamental factors). Also, the empirical evidence indicates substantial mutual causation between macroeconomic innovations and dynamic conditional alphas. This causal relation serves as a core qualifying condition for fundamental factor selection in our modern asset pricing model design and performance evaluation.

In conclusion, we help demystify the pervasive misconception that it is often difficult for individual investors to beat the long-term average 11% stock market return. Our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms the major stock market benchmarks such as S&P 500, MSCI, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq. We implement our proprietary alpha investment model for positive U.S. stock signals. A complete model description is available on our AYA fintech network platform. Our U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent publication is available on the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) website. Every freemium member can sign up for free to check out our proprietary alpha signals on our AYA fintech network platform. Each freemium member can thus learn from these proprietary alpha signals over time.

AYA finbuzz podcast February 2019

AYA Analytica is our online regular podcast and newsletter about key financial news, market insights, economic issues, and stock investment strategies on our Andy Yeh Alpha (AYA) fintech network platform. With both American focus and international reach, our primary and ultimate corporate mission aims to help enhance financial literacy, inclusion, and freedom of the open and diverse global general public. We apply our unique dynamic conditional alpha investment model as the first aid for every investor with profitable asset investment signals and portfolio strategies. In fact, our AYA freemium fintech network platform curates, orchestrates, and provides proprietary software technology and algorithmic cloud service to most members who can interact with one another on our AYA fintech network platform. Multiple blogs, posts, ebooks, analytical reports, stock alpha signals, and asset omega estimates offer proprietary solutions and substantive benefits to empower each financial market investor through technology, education, and social integration. Please feel free to sign up or login to enjoy our new and unique cloud software services on AYA fintech network platform now!!

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We create each free finbuzz (or free financial buzz) as a blog post on the latest financial news and asset investment ideas. Our finbuzz collection demonstrates our unique American focus with global reach. Each free finbuzz provides deep insights into numerous topical issues in global finance, stock market investment, portfolio optimization, and dynamic asset management. We strive to help enrich the economic lives of most investors who would otherwise engage in financial data analysis with inordinate time commitment.

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We should not conform to this world, but we should allow the renewal of our minds to transform us, so that we can prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Romans 12: 2

[artscampaigns-blog]

Save Research at CCW!

Dear Prof Crow,

Having learnt about the restructuring of CCW and that the jobs of research staff specializing on East Asian art and design are put at risk, we are deeply concerned and would like to request you to consider rectifying the matter.

As much as we appreciate the college’s attempt to streamline resources, we nonetheless cannot understand why East Asia would ever be considered irrelevant. We strongly believe that exposures to different cultures are essential for well-rounded training for artists and designers. Our specialists in the area [names redacted] are established and respected scholars in their respective fields. They have been bringing to the school their expertise and substantial academic output, and also opportunities for research students to take part in international conferences and to publish in reputed journals. Further to helping students build their academic credentials, these connections also raise CCW’s international profile.

These staff members are critical for attracting students with diverse scholarly interests, who would otherwise not be here. Many of these students are international students who contribute substantially to the college’s finance, as their fees are way higher than domestic students. Although we do not see universities as profitable businesses, that such income is conducive to the college’s financial sustainability cannot be undermined.

At a personal level, those of us who are currently doing our PhD at CCW are very worried that our ongoing research might be jeopardized. We are sure that you would agree that academic expertise, connections in the respective fields, understanding of the students’ progress and a long-term relationship are all indispensable for PhD supervision. Although you have stated in your message to all research students on May 8 and discussion with student rep Amanda Johansson that our supervision will be continually taken care of, substitution is unpreferred as our current DOS/supervisors were originally appointed because they were the most suitable faculty members the college could offer to us.

Last but not least, we also fear that the case might damage CCW's reputation. The failure to acknowledge the importance of cross-cultural understanding might be seen as a sign of parochialism. The discontinuation of tenures without strong justifications and open communication is procedurally unjust. The unconsulted change of a pivotal part of our research programme can be alarming to both current as well as prospective students. Any one of these criticisms can put the college's good repute at risk.

In view of the above reasons, we hope that you would safeguard the tenures of these staff members. We trust that you would take it as your responsibility to protect the interests of the college and its research students. Thank you very much for your kind consideration.

Yours sincerely

Current PhD students, CCW

Stephanie Cheung

Gerard Choy

Mark Donoghue

Keun-hye Lee

Hiroki Yamamoto

Former PhD/MPhil Students and Graduates

Dr Raphael Jay Adjani, former member of faculty of Goldsmiths, University of London, 2000-2012 (graduated in 2011)

Dr Anna Basham, AHRC Research Fellow, Forgotten Japonisme project 2007-2010 (graduated in 2007)

Dr Nicolas Cambridge, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Marketing London Metropolitan University (graduated in 2008)

Dr Helena Čapková, School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo (graduated in 2012)

Dr Toeingam Guptabutra, Faculty of Painting, Sculpture, and Graphic Art, Silpakorn University, Thailand (graduated in 2005)

Dr Alexandra Sophia Handal, Recent Solo Exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark (2016) (graduated in 2011)

Dr Kaoru Kojima-Kondo, Professor at Jissen Women’s University, Tokyo (graduated in 2007)

Dr Cindy Lisica, University of Houston, US (graduated in 2011)

Kiyoko Mitsuyama-Wdowiak, Independent Art Historian (MPhil, graduated in 2001)

Natasha Mrdalj, part-time art tutor, Croydon Metropolitan College (MPhil, graduated in 2015)

Dr Colin K Okashimo, Sculptor/Landscape Architect/Managing Director of Okashimo and Associates (Singapore) (graduated in 2007)

Dr Gabriela Pinheiro, Fine Arts Faculty, University of Porto, Portugal, (graduated 2001)

Dr Fabiola Martinez Rodriguez, Coordinator, Art History Program at Saint Louis University, Madrid (graduated in 2005)

Dr John Tran, Part-time lecturer at Nihon University and Waseda University, Tokyo (graduated in 2006)

Together with

Dr Hsin-tien Liao, Dean of the College of Humanities, National Taiwan University of Arts (PhD from University of Central England, with Professor Watanabe as External Supervisor)

[prettyrottenguts]

How I Got Booted From Florida Capitol Hill Meetings - Pt 2

One month ago I posted Part 1 of this gloriously ridiculous story. Well, life got busy. Better late than never, right? 

Part 1 ended where I explained the circumstances in which I was invited to attend the DDNC, the conversation that took place where I was told by this woman without a stitch of authority that I needed to attend another state’s meetings, and the irony involved in the entire situation...

At this point, I gathered my possessions and hauled off to meet the other half of Team 14B. She, the “she’s very smart, she’s a vet,” and I quickly bonded over the awkwardness of the situation. She explained how Lynn’s service dog had charged at her service dog, and most likely wanted to play but probably needed some more training. My new teammate’s service dog became uncomfortable around Lynn’s. After spending the day with my teammate’s service dog, and then witnessing Lynn’s, I could see what she meant. 

We did a time check to see when we needed to leave. As luck would have it, Nebraska had the earliest of the meetings. How convenient for Team 14A.

I volunteered to go and pick up the folders from a lovely woman I had met from the lobbyist’s office during my last trip. While I quickly downloaded her on the situation, I heard my Team 14B teammate tell Lynn to step away from her before she says “something out of character.” She has sass and impeccable manners. I liked her even more.

I quickly side-stepped back to my teammate’s side and stared at Lynn. She narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on me. Once again she stepped into my personal space, and then spat, “What? Are you mad at me?”

Without batting an eye, I turned to my teammate and noted we should leave or we’ll be late.

On the way to the Capitol, I mentioned to my teammate we had a 90-minute gap between our second-to-last and last meeting of the day and asked if she minded my attending the last Florida meeting of the day. We would still have plenty of time for our last meeting. She said she would hang out in the hall while I went in.

All things considered, our Nebraska meetings went pretty well. We were able to hit all of the pain points on the agenda and lace our stories and backgrounds through the Asks. We were also hyper-aware to add in pertinent information for the other digestive diseases affected current laws and mandates, as well as the possible loss of health insurance if the ACA was repealed.

When the last Florida meeting rolled around, I sat back and waited for places to speak. Stories weren’t always getting associated into the Asks, those were the moments that I jumped in and spoke – because, teamwork. 

During this meeting, each of us had an opportunity to share our story to the Aide, as well as how the Asks affected us. Because there were so many people, it did eat up a lot of time. This was one of the Lynn’s supposed concerns; too many people on the team would create an atmosphere where not everyone could speak.  

I acknowledge this was a larger group. And by Lynn pushing my teammate and myself to attend the Nebraska-only meetings, it cut the girth down by two people. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I joined the late-day Florida meeting, but it most definitely didn’t have a cohesive feel for a group of people that have been working together all day. There wasn’t a “teamwork” vibe happening. 

I patiently waited for Lynn to pitch for her self-named law. When she concluded, I remembered something that hadn’t been brought up during the pitches and asked the Aide if we could circle back. She obliged.

I treated the meeting like a boardroom conference and took notes about things that were missed or should be addressed further. I took a quick glance at my notes and spoke to correlate the Asks missed back into the narrative. I also hit upon a piece not covered by this group that my Teammate from 14B and I had made a point to speak about. It’s something I’m passionate about — having Medicare and private insurance companies alike providing full coverage for tube formula nutrition. I dove in discussing ports and PICC lines and the infection risk from the high-sugar content of TPN. 

I also spoke about the heightened risk of blood clots, sepsis, and how long-term TPN use can cause irreversible liver damage. And held it together when I mentioned how I lost one of my best friends to a pulmonary embolism after years of port issues and recurring sepsis. I wrapped up and thanked the Aide for allotting the additional time. 

Everyone started to exchange pleasantries with the Aide and thanking her for her time when suddenly a hand grabbed my arm. I froze. Then that distinct, loud, nasal, New York accent, projects loudly at my right ear, “You speak very well.”

Again, how I wished to say the thoughts in my head. Instead, I gritted my teeth while gathering my belongings up and dryly said, “Thank you.” Without missing a beat, I stood, turned and left the room. 

Here’s What Should Have Happened

In a perfect world, if Lynn was so concerned about everyone having a voice and time constraints because they are valid concerns — Lynn should have asked if anyone had a Rep or Senator that they really wanted to speak to over others, and then let the team decide who would go where.

There was plenty of ways to divide the group evenly and split Nebraska and Florida meetings amongst them. I realize it sounds weird that the one-half of the team would have only Florida members attending Nebraska meetings, but helllllllurrrr, that happened anyway when my teammate and I were sent into exile on Team 14B.

One of my IBD advocacy co-workers later pointed out the following: There is aggressiveness and there is leadership. She did not show leadership. She bullied you into getting her way. Leadership is inclusive. :::mic drop:::

All in all, the self-named Team 14B was a great experience with an unfortunate start. I still keep in touch with the “very smart” Veterinarian and get to follow her posts about work, her awesome service dog and a pup she's nursing back to health. However, if I’m ever back home visiting and run into Lynn Wolfson, I cannot guarantee I will be as well-mannered as I was during this event. 

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Rini Sampath didn’t always find it easy to embrace her South Asian roots. “When I was a kid, Indians were still the punchline on cartoon reruns,” says Sampath, 25, speaking from her home in San Diego, Calif. But when she was in middle school, her father introduced her to Kamala Harris, then San Francisco’s District Attorney. Fascinated by Harris’ backstory and biracial identity, Sampath followed the politician’s rise closely—from District Attorney to California Attorney General to U.S. Senator, and now Vice Presidential candidate. “As I watched her grow over the years and break many barriers, I grew up too,” Sampath says. “Inspired by her, I ran for, and won, the position of student body president at the University of Southern California.”

On Tuesday, Harris—born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother—was announced as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s vice-presidential pick, becoming the first Black woman and first person of Asian descent on a major party’s presidential ticket. But amid celebration surrounding the unprecedented level of representation Harris brings to the 2020 race, some worry that her South Asian heritage is being overlooked. Others say they don’t want the conversation around Harris’ candidacy as a biracial woman to ignore her past as a prosecutor, given the impact of the criminal justice system on Black and brown communities.

Despite Harris being open about her Indian heritage, popular framing has often excluded it: In 2016, Harris was frequently referred to as “the second black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate,” with little mention of the fact that she was also the first Senator of South Asian descent. After the announcement that she would be Biden’s running mate, headlines were similarly over-simplified. “In the media, she is always announced as the ‘first Black woman’ to do something, and she is, but she is also biracial and that is never in the headlines as a one-liner,” says Moenika Chowdhury, 24, of New Jersey.

Some argue that, in today’s political landscape, Harris can represent either Black America or Asian America, but not both. “The Democrats are a party of ethnic hierarchies, in which smaller ethnicities—such as Indians—must efface themselves and wait their turn,” writes Tunku Varadarajan in The Wall Street Journal. As Varadarajan notes, the difference in Black and Asian American numbers in the electorate is stark: 30 million Black Americans are projected to be eligible voters in the 2020 election, compared to 11 million Asian American voters.

But this one-sidedness doesn’t have to be the case, says Neil Makhija, executive director at the Indian American political group IMPACT. Being Black and Indian American places Harris in a position to make “the connection between civil rights and immigration” more visible, says Makhija. “I really am excited for her to tell that story, which will also bridge together communities of color and help us understand how we’re interconnected.”

“It isn’t just that we want her to be an Asian American sister for us,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal told the Associated Press, explaining that Harris embodies “the experiences that so many immigrant communities have had, learning from the leadership of Black communities… So we want her to claim all of us and we will all claim her.”

Harris and her South Asian heritage

The interconnectivity Makhija points to goes back decades. The philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian Independence Movement, was at the core of Martin Luther King Jr.’s work amid the U.S. Civil Rights movement. King, who first learned about Gandhi in 1949 as a seminary student, read many of Gandhi’s writings and corresponded with the Indian leader’s disciples. King soon refined his own message of nonviolent resistance, inspired by the Gandhian principles he had studied. In 1959, the Civil Rights leader visited India to pay homage and learn more about his paragon. “To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim,” King said.

Amid waves of social change within America, 1964 saw the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Just a year later, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act also became law—a route for many Indians to immigrate to the U.S. The connections between the civil rights movement and immigration are starting to become more apparent among Indian Americans, according to M.R. Rangaswami, founder of Indiaspora. “Everybody is realizing that the Civil Rights Act was the reason why the Immigration Act was then passed a year later,” says Rangaswami, “[and] that allowed Indians and people like my brother to immigrate to this country.”

Courtesy of Kamala HarrisKamala Harris with her younger sister, Maya, and their mother outside of their apartment on Milvia Street in Jan. 1970.

“My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America—one from India and the other from Jamaica—in search of a world-class education,” Harris said on Aug. 12 in her first campaign appearance as Biden’s running mate. “But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And that’s how they met, as students in the streets of Oakland, marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today.” Harris often cites her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, as a particular source of inspiration and drive, and has discussed how her mother was discriminated against for her accent and often sidelined for promotions.

You can’t know who @KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was. Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today. #BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/nmWVj90pkA

— Maya Harris (@mayaharris_) August 12, 2020

Still, “the primacy of Senator Harris’ identity as a Black woman is a real thing,” says Virinchi Sindhwani, 23, who worked at the Iowa Caucus as a Democratic field organizer. One reason for this overshadowing, according to Varun Nikore, President of the AAPI Victory Fund, could be that Americans just don’t know how to talk about biracial identities. “You don’t see it discussed much,” Nikore says, “but multiracial people are among the fastest-growing demographic categories in the United States.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of mixed-race individuals is projected to triple by 2060, making it the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group for the next several decades. And the Asian population is the next fastest-growing, projected to double in the same timeframe.

While Asian American voters make up about 5% of eligible U.S. voters, among that group Indian Americans hold one of the highest turnout rates. “But there’s still room to grow, and chances are that Harris’ presence will help boost turnout, especially among younger Indian American voters,” says Karthick Ramakrishnan, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Riverside and founder of AAPI Data.

For some voters, the racial representation Harris brings to the Democratic ticket doesn’t negate concerns they have over her past policy positions when it comes to underrepresented communities, including her record of defending California’s death penalty system and promoting heightened law enforcement surrounding marijuana. “At many points in my life, she’s been a role model for me. However, she has also been very problematic in regards to the prison industrial complex and prosecution,” says Zoee D’Costa, a medical student in New Jersey who identifies as Indian and Portuguese American.

As racial justice protests have swept the country this summer, D’Costa says she is troubled by Biden and Harris’ records dealing with Black communities. Nevertheless, she still plans on voting for a Biden-Harris ticket.

The complexities of biracial identities in politics

In California, where there’s a larger population of Black people than South Asian Americans, Harris “has built her political career sort of centering her Black identity,” says Sangay Mishra, assistant professor at Drew University and author of Desis Divided: The Political Lives of South Asian Americans. He believes this plays a large role in people not knowing about her South Asian heritage today, particularly those who aren’t South Asian. In more recent years, Harris has been more explicit about her Indian roots, a shift Mishra believes is reflective of how she has evolved and grappled with her identity throughout her life. “Her mother was very clear that she was Indian but she was Black also, and her Blackness was a big part of how she was seen by people,” says Mishra, also pointing to Harris’ decision to attend a historically Black college.

Mishra also notes that voters understand that a political figure needs to be popular among more than one ethnic group. “There is a tendency to claim a person as belonging only to one group… but I don’t think that either Black voters or South Asian voters are going to be that narrow in their thinking,” he says.

Mike Kepka—San Francisco Chronicle/Getty ImagesKamala Harris meets with supporters in front of the 24th street BART station while on the campaign trail with Cruz Bustamonte on Oct. 4, 2003. Harris was running for District Attorney in San Francisco.

For multiracial voters, the issue hits close to home. “Being biracial is such a personal experience,” says Chowdhury, who is of Indian and Russian descent. “You cannot judge it from the outside looking in.”

“The wording that needs to stop being thrown around are people debating if she is ‘Black enough’ or ‘Indian enough.’ When you are born biracial you completely own both ‘sides’ of your race. It is not a competition of percentages,” she says. Even more, being biracial is an identity in its own right, separate from the sum of its parts.

The bridging together of the two cultures that many are hoping Harris can represent is already happening in small ways. In the last few weeks, a new dance trend has spread on TikTok and beyond: the Wakhra Dougie. Set to a remix of “Teach Me How to Dougie” by Cali Swag District combined with “Wakhra Swag” by Navv Inder, the choreography blends the Dougie with Indian dance moves. After Harris was announced as Biden’s running mate, the Internet was quick to seize the opportunity—one TikTok creator sharing a video dressed as Harris and dancing the Wakhra Dougie with the caption, “Kamala Harris bringing the Black and Indian to the White House in Jan.”

Seeing themselves—and their lived experiences—in a candidate for perhaps the first time, many voters will be hoping for just that.

[maritzaerwin]

9 Trends Human Resources Needs To Be Aware During The COVID-19 Pandemic

How can you manage the unmanageable? That’s the question many HR managers are facing during the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Now that most offices are empty, human resources have to figure out hi-tech ways to provide employees and executives with critical info. Indeed, as technology becomes an increasingly central part of the work experience, Human resources cannot ignore incorporating IT skills into their repertoire. 

Nobody knows exactly what the post-COVID-19 world will look like, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on emerging trends. In this post, we’ll take a peek at how HR leaders are managing their tasks during the pandemic. Hopefully, these reflections will help people in the Human Resources field better plan for the emerging economy.   

9 Mega-Trends and Movements in Human Resources During COVID-19 

1. Physical Health Is Every Company’s Priority 

During a global pandemic, it’s no surprise everyone is placing health & well-being at the top of their priority lists. Since the coronavirus is on everyone’s minds, companies want to make employees feel as safe as they possibly can.

Human resources could play a significant role in promoting high health standards in many ways. For instance, HR managers could send timely information and reliable resources to provide some “corona clarity” to co-workers. HR representatives could also re-assure employees by letting them know their company’s high health standards and proactive strategies. If possible, HRM should also provide pertinent information on local COVID-19 screening facilities. 

Of course, HR is not healthcare, so there’s only so far HRM could go in providing accurate data on COVID-19. While human resources could give general guidelines on healthful habits, HR must focus on their company’s health insurance provider. In fact, it might be a good idea to schedule a refresher course on your company’s sick leave policies and healthcare benefits. HRM teams should also encourage employees to get checked and stay quarantined if they have COVID-like symptoms. 

If companies decide to move back to traditional offices, HRM may play an active role in maintaining official health protocols. This could include facemasks, gloves, or social distancing. Human resources might also be tasked with approving or disapproving meetings or parties depending on current pandemic conditions. 

As the coronavirus continues to spread, there’s no doubt physical health will be a top concern in HR’s daily operations. Hopefully, the experience of this global pandemic will provide companies with a blueprint for how to navigate future unforeseen issues effectively. 

2. Computerized Counseling

Although physical health is paramount during the COVID-19 pandemic, HRM can’t neglect their employees’ psychological well-being. During such an unprecedented epidemic, it’s understandable why employees are seeking psychological help via HR departments. Indeed, recent data now shows many people are turning to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications to help cope with the stress of these new life circumstances.   

It’s worth mentioning, however, that everyone adapts to quarantined life differently. While some employees feel comfortable working at home, others might feel anxious about this new situation. The key to providing beneficial counseling will depend on each employee’s unique situation and personality.  

HRM also has to keep in mind that each employee’s home circumstances could play a significant role in their stress levels. Adults taking care of kids will need different accommodation versus employees who live on their own. HR leaders should be prepared to provide employees with info on how the company could best address their needs. 

As a general tip: many people in HR have also reported great success consistently reminding co-workers that “we’re all in this together.” People who use this simple mantra say it helps build morale and reminds colleagues that there’s always someone in the workforce who could lend a helping hand. 

Regardless of the situation, it is important for employers to find ways to keep their employees motivated and engaged so that they feel satisfied and not overwhelmed by their duties.

3. Burnout and High-Stress Situations

Piggybacking off of the last point, there’s a growing concern the digitized work environment could erase traditional boundaries between professional and personal relations. While this feature has certain benefits (e.g., workers have greater flexibility and feel more relaxed), it could be a significant issue for HR executives in conflict resolution cases. 

Unfortunately, we also know that domestic violence has become increasingly prevalent ever since the COVID-19 lockdowns went into effect. Also, many people who struggle with mental health issues and addictions (e.g., alcohol) are turning to substance abuse to help deal with their stress.  

HR managers should be aware of these coronavirus-related health risks and share pertinent information as they see fit. Presenting these touchy topics in a group setting could encourage vulnerable team members to seek professional help they may need. Although it may be uncomfortable, HRM teams need to know about these COVID-related issues.    

4. Maintaining Consistency in a Changing World

One way many HR departments are trying to keep employees productive during the COVID-19 pandemic is by providing transparent workflows. Yes, remote work is supposed to be flexible, but that doesn’t mean there are suddenly no standards. Creating a clear list of goals for each employee could provide a sense of purpose and consistency. These milestones could also help company executives monitor each employee’s work performance.  

In addition to setting manageable project goals, HRM could help employees adjust to the “new normal” with tips related to effective at-home work strategies. For example, HR managers often recommend their employees create a dedicated space that’s just for work. Instead of moving from the kitchen to the dining room to the bedroom, workers tend to be more productive when they have one spot primarily associated with their work routine.

5. How Does Workers’ Compensation Work For COVID-19?

Could a company legally be held responsible for the transmission of COVID-19? How do providers handle workers’ compensation claims with at-home employees? These are just a few questions attorneys and insurance providers are still scrambling to answer during the coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to these issues. Handling workers’ comp in the midst of a pandemic is a truly novel experience, as such there aren’t protocols in place on how to handle such issues. HR representatives will need to evaluate workers’ comp claims on a case-by-case basis. There are, however, a few features that stand out in this case.

In general, workers’ comp claims related to COVID-19 are most common in the healthcare industry. This makes sense considering the higher risk of COVID-19 transmissibility in hospital settings. However, since hospitals often provide ample protection and sanitization, it’s still unclear how much healthcare leaders could be held accountable.

No matter what business you’re involved in, it’s always better to invest as much as you can in creating a pristine work environment. Companies that can afford to work remotely should do so. However, if your company must interact with the public, HR reps need to inform employees on the most up-to-date CDC guidelines (e.g., plenty of hand sanitizers, six-foot distance markers, face masks, and appropriate signage).

As long as companies are taking proactive steps to combat coronavirus, employees should feel at ease. These measures will not only slow the spread of COVID-19, but they’ll also reduce the risk your company will ever have to deal with a COVID-19 lawsuit.

6. Re-Imagining Office Space

For architects and interior designers, COVID-19 represents both a challenge and an opportunity. People involved in the construction industry are already discussing many different ways they could naturally support social distancing and use touch-free technologies in future building designs. 

Even if we get a COVID-19 vaccine in the ensuing months, buildings in the globalized era will need to account for pandemic risk. This will include measures to maintain safe distances between employees and provide touch-free resources throughout the buildings.

As an HR manager, you won’t be tasked with literally constructing buildings in response to pandemics. You might, however, have to help re-design office environments to promote social distancing. To minimize the spread of COVID-19, HR might need to develop signage to remind people to wash their hands and wear facemasks.

To ensure high hygiene standards, HRM will have to work more closely with custodial crews to check-up on sanitization. You might also be tasked with keeping tabs on new sanitation expenditures such as sanitization stations, gloves, and facemasks.  

7. “Social Gathering” & Team-Building Exercise Ideas 

Even though you can’t be in the same room with your colleagues, there are ways human resources departments could help organize “socially-distant social gatherings.” Yes, it might seem a bit crazy, but once you begin brainstorming, you’ll be amazed at how many great ideas you could use to promote camaraderie. 

One popular idea some HR managers have used is to create DIY facemasks as a group. You could also hold meetings to make soap bars or hand sanitizers. 

Human resources should also consider organizing simple anxiety-reducing meditation sessions with employees. People who meditate regularly generally have higher productivity and lower stress, both of which are especially important today.

But not all team-building exercises have to be COVID-19-related. For instance, some companies are hosting “cooking parties” where everyone logs into Zoom and prepares dinner together. You could also go on “virtual vacations” to various museums or major world cities that now offer exceptional online experiences. 

If you want to get personal with your employees, consider hosting “share my home” tours in the style of celebrity TV shows. Pet lovers might enjoy hosting colorful dress-up parties featuring employees’ cats and dogs.

As you could see, the list of team-building exercises during COVID-19 is endless. No matter what you choose, it’s significant for companies to put the time into these informal get-togethers. Some of these suggestions may seem silly, but they can help employees feel closer together during the pandemic.     

8. Building Trust In The “Remote Work Era”

A common issue people in HRM have noticed recently is that managers have become increasingly suspicious of their employees. Now that everyone is working online rather than in the office, it’s understandable why managers feel anxious about a dip in productivity. HRM has to find ways to carefully balance their manager’s “control concerns” while allowing their employees maximum flexibility.

As already mentioned, setting clear goals is a fantastic way to track productivity in this environment. However, there are other strategies HRM could use to alleviate their manager’s worries without creating an uncomfortable work environment.

For instance, some HR managers set up casual Zoom get-togethers to discuss project updates and concerns. These chats are often non-mandatory and informal. Creating this relaxed atmosphere gives employees the ability to express their concerns freely with superiors. Regular casual meetings also reduce the risk managers will resort to harmful “micro-managing” tactics.  

9. Creating A Strong Partnership With IT 

Since remote work is such a significant trend in the COVID-19 workplace, it makes sense that human resources departments are partnering with IT teams. Only IT can provide the expertise to make e-communications as smooth as possible. Having a good rapport with IT technicians will help everyone feel comfortable using your company’s software.

Human resources leaders might also begin looking into professional tech training courses to improve their tech skills. While HR employees don’t have to know all of the intricacies of working on the Web, they will benefit from whatever tech skills they develop.

In addition to fixing glitches, HRM and IT departments must focus on empowering employees to make the most of their digital toolkit. It might become mandatory to schedule tech education courses to lift everyone’s technical proficiency to an equal level. HRM could also work with IT to create easy-to-follow software tutorials for staff members. 

If employees are consistently struggling with tech-related issues, HRM should know how to provide proper assistance. A thorough background in computing will help HRM give employees the skills they need to succeed online.   

Where Is Human Resources Headed In The New Economy?

Please remember, everything listed above is only based on current human resources trends. The coronavirus is a continually changing situation with many complex factors we haven’t even begun to wrap our heads around. However, there’s little doubt that digitization will play a crucial role in how we work post-COVID-19. human resources teams should use this opportunity to refine their technical skills, engage with their teams, and prepare future pandemic response accordingly.  

Additional Reading:

How COVID-19 and Social Distancing Will Affect Hiring for HR Professionals

13 COVID-19 Questions Answered for Employers

The post 9 Trends Human Resources Needs To Be Aware During The COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on CareerMetis.com.

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Stakeholder Management Tips for Product People

Lead the Stakeholders—Don’t Please, Don’t Dictate

As the person in charge of the product, your aspiration should be to lead the stakeholders in order to create value together and achieve product success. In reality, however, some product people either aim to please the stakeholders by saying yes to their requests or by brokering compromises. Others do everything they can to make the stakeholders agree to their ideas and plans. But neither of these two approaches is desirable.

The first one carries the risk of being a feature broker and offering a product that has a weak value proposition, gives rise to a poor user experience, and consists of a loose collection of features. The second approach fails to leverage the knowledge and expertise of the stakeholders. What’s more, it makes it unlikely that the stakeholders will fully support the product decisions and that they will follow them through.

Effective stakeholder management starts by embracing the right attitude: See the stakeholders as equal partners; take an interest in their perspective, ideas, concerns, and underlying needs; build trustful connections with the individuals; and encourage the stakeholders to work together. But do not accept inappropriate behaviour and do not allow people to treat you like a project manager, team lead, or personal assistant. The following tips will help you with this.

Engage the Right People

A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in your product, who is affected by it, or who shows an interest in the offering. While this definition includes users and customers, I use the term in this article to refer to the internal business stakeholders. For example, these stakeholders are likely to include representatives from marketing, sales, support, and finance for a commercial product.

To focus your stakeholder management effort, identify your key stakeholders—those individuals with whom you want to establish a trustful connection and collaborate on a regular basis. This is particularly helpful when you are faced with a large group of stakeholders, which is not uncommon in bigger companies. A handy stakeholder analysis tool is the power-interest grid developed by Ackermann and Eden.

As its name suggests, the grid analyses the stakeholders by taking into account their power and interest; it assumes that people take a low or high interest in your product and have low or high power. This results in four stakeholder groups: players, subjects, context setters, and crowd, as the picture below shows.

The players are your key stakeholders: These are the individuals whose trust you should earn, who you should closely collaborate with, who you should involve in important product decisions. This avoids the risk that the stakeholder management work becomes overwhelming and consumes too much of your time. For guidance on how to interact with the other stakeholder groups, please see my article “Getting Stakeholder Engagement Right”.

Build Trust

As the person in charge of the product, you lack transactional power: You cannot tell the stakeholders what to do, you cannot assign tasks to the individuals, and you are typically not in a position to offer a bonus, pay raise, or other incentives. At the same time, you rely on their work and support to progress the product, for instance, to market and sell it. How can you then guide the individuals and ensure that everyone moves together in the same direction?

The answer is by building trust. Here is why: As you lack transactional power, you must influence the stakeholders and encourage them to follow your lead. To do so, you have to earn the individuals’ trust. To put it differently, if the stakeholders don’t trust you, they won’t follow you and they won’t support your ideas and suggestions.

The following techniques will help you with earning the stakeholders’ trust:

Empathise: Take a warm-hearted interest in the stakeholders and try to understand their perspectives, ideas, concerns, interests, and needs—no matter how likeable and agreeable you find the individuals and their views.

Practice active listening: Make an effort to attentively listen to the stakeholders and cultivate an open mind.

Speak and act with integrity: Say what you believe is true, be willing to admit mistakes, and walk your own talk.

Get to know people and, for example, have lunch or coffee together, be it in the same room or online.

Involve people in product decisions but don’t make the mistake of trying to please them.

Increase your product management expertise.

Form a Stakeholder Community

Building trust with the stakeholders and effectively collaborating with the individuals is hard when the stakeholder group is changeable, when people come and go, for instance, when a new sales rep is assigned to your product every few months. I therefore recommend that you form a stable group of stakeholders and develop it into a stakeholder community where the individuals work together on a continued basis and learn to trust, respect, and support each other.

To build such a stakeholder community, try the following techniques, which I discuss in more detail in my book How to Lead in Product Management:

Bring people together and have joint workshops instead of holding separate conversations with the individual stakeholders, see also the section below.

Establish clear roles and responsibilities. If people aren’t clear on what is expected of them and who is doing what, confusion arises, and collaboration becomes more difficult.

Collaboratively set goals, for example, user and business goals on the product strategy and product goals on the product roadmap.

Improve the collaboration within the stakeholder group and address issues, for instance, by holding stakeholder retrospectives.

Ask the Scrum Master to help you build a stakeholder community.

Engage the Stakeholders Early and Regularly

I’m a big fan of involving the key stakeholders early and often. This starts by inviting them to a kick-of workshop for a brand-new product or a major product update and asking them to contribute to the product discovery and strategy validation work.

It continues with collaboratively creating a product roadmap and having regular joint product strategy workshops, once per quarter as a rule of thumb, where the product strategy and roadmap are reviewed and adapted. Additionally, ask the players to attend the sprint review meetings at least once per month so that the individuals see how the product progresses and are able to share their ideas and concerns.

In other words, involve the key stakeholders in product discovery and product development work. This allows you to benefit from their expertise, it ensures that everyone is on the same page, and it encourages shared ownership: When developed collaboratively, the product strategy and product roadmap are no longer your plans that people are meant to follow. Instead, they are collectively owned, and everyone involved feels responsible for them.

Note that collaboration means constructively engaging with one another and achieving some form of consensus—not splitting the difference or agreeing on the smallest common denominator, neither of which is a recipe for achieving product success.

Joint workshops, and collaboration in general, become easier and more enjoyable once people have started to trust and respect each other, and the stakeholder group has evolved into a community. The same is true for making product decisions together with the stakeholders, which I discuss next.

Involve the Stakeholders in Important Product Decisions

The most amazing product strategy and the best product roadmap are worthless if the stakeholders don’t support them. But how do you secure people’s buy-in and maximise the chances that the individuals follow the strategy and roadmap? My answer is by involving them in making the appropriate decisions.

When it comes to decision-making, you have two main choices: First, you can make a decision and then try to sell it to the stakeholders. This can be a lengthy iterative process that requires quite a bit of to-and-fro, negotiation, and possibly persuasion. Your second option is to bring the stakeholders together—be it in the same room or a video call—and decide collaboratively. This option takes advantage of the group’s collective knowledge, ensures that everyone has the same understanding, allows the individual stakeholders to be aware of the other people’s perspectives and interests, and typically results in stronger support for the decision, which makes it more likely that the individuals will stick to it and see it through.

To take advantage of collaborative decision-making and effectively involve the stakeholders in important product decisions, try the following techniques:

Employ a dedicated facilitator who ensures that everyone feels safe to speak her or his mind, that everybody is heard, and that nobody dominates. This mitigates the risk that the HIPPO, the highest paid person’s opinion, wins. You may want to ask your Scrum Master to facilitate the decision-making process, assuming that the individual has the right skills.

Foster a collaborative mindset and agree on ground rules: Lead by example and attentively listen to people’s ideas while cultivating an open mind.

Choose a decision rule so that everyone understands who decides and when and how a decision is made. Example decisions rules are consent, unanimity, and product person decides after discussion.

Encourage people to come up with diverging ideas and create a shared understanding of their underlying interests and needs before you try to find a solution that everyone can agree with.

Don’t shy away from making tough decisions and declining suggestions and requests after you have attentively listened to the requester and empathised with the individual.

You can find more collaborative decision-making tips in my book How to Lead in Product Management.

Hold People Accountable and Don’t Tolerate Inappropriate Behaviour

It’s great to lead the stakeholder by being collaborative and involving them in important product decisions. But this also means holding people accountable for meeting their agreements. If, for example, the marketer has failed to create the marketing collateral required for the upcoming release, then don’t ignore the issue but address it in the right way. Talk to the individual, empathise with the person, and find out what happened. But do not accept that a stakeholder intentionally acts against a joint decision or a common goal.

Similarly, don’t allow individuals to use a personal conversation with you to make requests, like trying to add a new feature. When this happens, kindly but firmly ask people to attend the appropriate meeting and to share their request with the other stakeholders. This creates transparency, fosters joint ownership, and avoids the impression that you might favour certain individuals.

Finally, don’t put up with inappropriate communication behaviour, like blaming others, bending the truth, or hogging the conversation. Ask people to always treat each other with respect, attentively listen to one another, and refrain from using harsh and false speech. Remember that dealing with people issues is part and parcel of managing a product and that learning to constructively address disagreements and conflict is an important leadership skill.

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