Order in the Court! (So how about cameras?)

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments about the national health care law commonly referred to as "Obamacare." As divisive a piece of legislation that's come down the pike in a long time. But I'm not here today to talk about the political issues of the law, but rather what we're not seeing this week as the court hears arguments about the legality of the law.

The Supreme Court doesn't allow cameras inside the court during arguments. Our judicial system is one of the three branches of government, the other two being the Executive and Legislative. The founding fathers organized things this way to provide a system of checks and balances. The Executive and Legislative branches get tons of coverage.

Which leaves me with just one question: Why not the Judicial Branch? We get to see the confirmation hearings when a Supreme Court Justice is appointed. We just don't get to see them do the job we pay them to do.

As a board member of the Radio-Television-Digital News Association we fought hard at the Federal and State level for cameras in courtrooms. I represented RTDNA twice at the National Judicial College speaking on behalf of the issue.

Some negotiations were far less formal. In Wyoming, a fellow judge at a chili cook-off was indeed, a Judge! We got to talking about it, and it was the start of cameras in Wyoming Courtrooms. Thanks to the efforts of groups like RTDNA and enlightened judges cameras are common in most courtrooms.

Except for the highest court in the land, where the issue being dealt with is one of the most important of our times. We get to hear bits of audio and of course the courtroom sketches, which we in the news industry considered more cartoons than substance.

Cameras are with the President everywhere. C-Span provides coverage of both the Senate and House as they conduct the nation's business. As for the highest court in the land dealing with landmark decisions, us folks on Main Street are on the outside trying to look in. But the drapes are drawn and we're shut out. What we get to see is filtered through the media, pundits and plenty of opining.

Why not let us watch for ourselves and make up our own minds?

Here's to both order and cameras in the court.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations

Old Fashioned Customer Service in a Word: COOL!

We're in Georgia this week, enjoying, thanks to technology, the ability to work from just about anywhere along with spending quality time with family.

I ran an errand this morning, to get a fire fixed on our kid's minivan. The tire met a nail along the road, and while the leak was a slow one it needed to be fixed.

I took the car to Discount Tire in Buford, Ga. (A norther 'burb of Atlanta) They quickly got the vehicle into a service bay, there was bottled water and fresh coffee while we waited and the repair was done quickly. They also took time to check all the tires, lug nuts and other tire stuff.

They pulled the van around front and we were ready to go. No Charge! Getting a nail in a tire wasn't their fault but they fixed it free. They're betting that good care and customer service will lead us back to that store when it comes time for future business. They're not alone. Back home in Colorado we frequent Grease Monkey in Highlands Ranch, have done so for years because they just treat us so nicely.

The whole thing is Business 101. Treat everyone like a valued customer and they'll likely become just that, valued customers. Even better, we're likely to recommend these businesses to our friends and neighbors. Which in this blog, I'm doing!

Sadly, I don't think they teach this at the fancy business schools. Thankfully they do at companies like Discount Tire and Grease Monkey.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations

All things in moderation. Too bad the Moderates are leaving.

Republican Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is calling it quits. She joins a growing list of political moderates from both the Republican and Democratic Parties who have had enough of the bizarre political partisanship that has sadly become the norm in government.

Not that long ago, Senators like Ted Kennedy and Alan Simpson would verbally duke it out on the Senate floor, but at the end of the day they would find a way to compromise and do what's best for America. Senator Simpson once told me that "If you like to get your own way, don't go into politics."

Polar political opposites, Senators Kennedy and Simpson were also close friends.  After a tough day of doing the nation's business, they were as likely to go out together for dinner and enjoy each other's company, knowing full well they'd be battling the next day in the Senate. But things got done.

Another political odd couple was President Reagan and House Speaker Tip O'Neill. Both folk heroes in their respective parties, with differing views but when the going got tough, they could get together (often over a nip or two) and figure out a way to craft legislation that benefited the folks on Main Street. Again, it involved compromise. Both fully understood what their duties were.

I met Speaker O'Neill briefly at an event at the Kennedy Center. We were standing in line at a bar and chatted briefly. It was a black tie gala, but I noticed O'Neil had dirt under his fingernails. The true sign of a working man.

I don't know about you, but I watch and read with great sadness the political hoo-ha from both parties this election year. It's all about painting your opponent as being evil. Can you remember any candidate looking into the camera and telling you how they wanted to make life better for you and your family? I thought not.

Government is described these days as dysfunctional, by definition something "that is flawed and doesn't operate correctly, or someone that deviates from normal and accepted social behavior."

Maybe it's time we start all over again, time to throw all the bums out. Goodness knows they're not hard to find.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations