media*bistro is all i evah need!

The Morning Newsfeed: 02.12.07
Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Newsfeed via email.
Libby Believes NBC News Could Clear Him (AP)Attorneys for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby believe that NBC News holds a key to clearing him of perjury and obstruction charges in the CIA leak case. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, wants a federal judge to let his lawyers question Andrea Mitchell, NBC's foreign affairs correspondent, about when she learned that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA. NYT: Having Cheney testify in Libby's trial is a high risk proposition. LAT: The Libby trial has unearthed Washington's deeply cynical attitude toward Tim Russert and Meet the Press.
Observer Goes Tabloid (NYP)The most sweeping redesign in the New York Observer's 20-year history will hit newsstands Wednesday, transforming the salmon-colored broadsheet weekly into an extralong tabloid. The paper will keep its color but is going with a new logo, a different typeface and shorter stories. The front cover will contain no story text — only headlines, photo and a small version of its famous cartoon logo.
The Wizards of Buzz on Digg, Reddit and Their Ilk (WSJ)Social bookmarking sites, where Web surfers share their favorite links, are giving a few heavy users power to shape the online viewing habits of thousands. These "hidden influencers" have an outsize effect on ads, trends and the sites that get plucked from obscurity.
Web Auteur Takes the Leap From YouTube to Boob Tube (NYT)Over the past year David Lehre, 22, has been an Internet phenomenon, posting a series of highly popular videos on his Web site that have quickly...

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CNN asked, "Is Anna Nicole Smith Still Dead?"

.
Oh,Yes, they did.
And You-HOO Tube will reverbbbbbbb-erate it for eternity - let the pundinity - putridity - stupiditity outdo itself -- Stupefyin' Jones! sAY, I Miss Li'l Abner* Cartoons right ABOUT Now! - SEE: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f391d03c0b

*Li'l and the late AL CAPP wuz a political southern polecat, too, I reckon!
http://www.lil-abner.com/cappbio.html

# # #

HighVizPR + Promotion = the new journalism. Politics = Show Biz! News is entertainment?: LA Times: That Story on Page One begins and Ends with much Cleavage

HighVizPR + Promotion = the new journalism. Politics = Show Biz! News is entertainment?: LA Times: That Story on Page One begins and Ends with much Cleavage

Anna Nicole Smith has died, and has pushed the Iraq-manufactured WAR off the front-mobile pages!

.

.http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/top_stories/anna_nicole_more_popular_than_the_war_52829.asp

---tv newser: anna nicole's death more popular than the war

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?020807/020807_cav_eastwood&Your_World&Eastwood%20on%20Smith%27s%20Death&acc&Your%20World&-1&Business&295&&&exp

---ask Clint Eastwood, he knows why -- because Neil Cavuto even made him lead-off and say so! Sheesh!

~~and~~

MORE HEADLINES from just the other day -- why, Zsa Zsa Gabor's 9th husband couldn't resist this!

--and we love our ZSA ZSA -- Paris Hilton's great AUNT KNEW IT ALL!

DRUDGE SEZ: CLAIM: SMITH CHOKED ON HER OWN VOMIT...CBS: Investigators found illegal narcotics, prescription meds in room... Mother Blames Drugs... JUDGE: NO EMERGENCY DNA SAMPLE...

Zsa Zsa's Husband: I Might Be Baby's Dad...

FLASHBACK: 'PRINCE FREDERIC VON ANHALT' SUED VIAGRA IN 2000 OVER IMPOTENCY...Battle Over $1.6 Billion Fortune Brewing...Autopsy Performed... She Died Like Marilyn...Timeline... Final Footage Sells for Over $500,000... Rosie Rants On Anna Nicole -- Hours Before Her Death...

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Run, Rudy, Run! Go, go, go!

.
http://www.wnbc.com/politics/10934820/detail.html

Mike Huckabee is exploring Presdiential options

http://www.explorehuckabee.com/site/PageServer

Can he win?

I certainly hope so.

The man has saved my life, and I make no secret of it on this blog. See my archives for June or google abbebuckpr + Mike Huckabee*

Mike, you have my support.

Abbe Buck, APR
1-800-380-2825


*AbbeBuckPR -in the business of "High-Viz-Ability": -88 "HighViz ...AbbeBuckPR -in the business of "High-Viz-Ability". Thursday, June 22, 2006. -88 "HighViz P.R." for myself, or, I owe GOV Mike Huckabee (R-AK), a great BIG ...
abbebuckpr.blogspot.com/2006/06/88-highviz-pr-for-myself-or-i-owe-gov.html - 30k - Cached - Similar pages

AbbeBuckPR -in the business of "High-Viz-Ability"abbebuckpr.blogspot.com/2006/06/88-highviz-pr-for-myself-or-i-owe-gov.html - Mike Huckabee President 2008: June 2006 Abbe Buck, a Washington DC public ...
abbebuckpr.blogspot.com/ - 141k - Cached - Similar pages

HighVizPR + Promotion = the new journalism. Politics = Show Biz ...AbbeBuckPR -in the business of "High-Viz-Ability": -88 "HighViz PR" for myself, or, I owe GOV Mike Huckabee (R-AK), a great BIG HOOAH! ...
highvizpr.blogspot.com/2006/06/i-owe-gov-mike-huckabee-great-big.html - 23k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages HighVizPR + Promotion = the new journalism. Politics = Show Biz ...

Mike Huckabee of Arkansas is leading the way among the dozens of governors gathered here Saturday for their annual meeting, with a zeal that comes from ...
highvizpr.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html - 160k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages

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Reputation Management & Damage Control: a primer that remains relevent

.

Reputation Management & Damage Control
by Abbe Buck, HighVizpr.com

Most people use the internet and the broadcast media in our daily lives. Whether we get our morning news on Yahoo! or not, millions of people watch news, entertainment and other programming 24/7. Many of these same people among us are participating in online public discussion groups and starting their own web logs. This has made the Internet the people's forum - everyone contributes and every opinion counts. It has lead to more of a poltical “vox populi” (Latin for “voice of the people”) than we have seen in decades. This is what the daily newspaper used to do. But now, the news - good or bad, rumor or fact - travels faster on the Internet than any other medium.

Here is a leading example of this trend, which seems here to stay: As you may have noted in politics, the internet has quelled Dan Rather’s career as CBS News anchor (with the Bush National Guard ‘letter’ that was certainly mis-reported. This was not brought to the forefront by national “network” news, or on cable news networks, or on talk radio, but by “bloggers” (web-loggers, who have developed their own private “VOICE OF THE PEOPLE” websites. If you can read e-mail you can receive their opinion in your in-box, and it can topple an entire news organization when many band together as a United Front. One of the best examples is on americablog.com - anything you read is posted there!

It could happen to you!

Now think of this: a single unhappy customer, misinformed consumer, or disgruntled employee can spark an online and offline reputation disaster for your company. Having a Public Relations firm planning ahead to avert a potential PR disaster for your company before they become "breaking news" is a market savvy approach.

Putting an organizational PR “Battle Plan” in place:

When damaging news, derogatory rumors, or misinformation “catch fire” on the Internet. We advise that you have a communications person on your management team who is well-versed in a range of verticals. It will be this person’s job #1 to find out where the negative mention started, and to be able to counter as a spokesperson any negative statement or written word that has been picked up by media or on the internet. This person must quickly and effectively find every negative mention of your company online and offline, and immediately strike back with a (counter) strategy to safeguard your company or organization.

Damage Control – What should we do?

When a PR crisis erupts, it is important to execute a timely response to derogatory or misleading information about your company. Working closely with top management and communication staff to disseminate the corporate messages, personnel should quickly present your side of the story and direct audiences to favorable sources of information - dampening the flames and exposing the biases of your detractors.

In addition, to an assembled rapid-response team a PR crisis management website that explained a company’s position to the public and presents all favorable evidence, argument, and media coverage is a must have. The address of this website should be distributed to concerned audiences online through news, search engines, and other channels. Your selected PR firm’s job is to make sure that the public also had the opportunity to hear your company's side of the story before negative sentiments can take hold. This can also done with broadcast reporters and talk-show hosts, who “glom” onto any negotiable sentiment because it becomes top news. To respond is a must!

Media contacts and online Monitoring

While marketers and communicators specialists are in contact with the top media outlets, broadcast and print, your PR firm should also has an Online Monitoring team sweeping the Internet constantly, looking for any and all mentions of your company or organization. Concerned management must stay informed about the perceptions of their brand and the opinions of their customers, employees, and professional analysts online and in print.


» Abbe Buck, Publicist, abbe@highviz.net


HighViz Consulting Group


T 1-800-380-2825
Description: A PR specialist in the fields of promotion


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An old Kirk Douglas movie reminds me...

...



Let's not go there. And stop taking dictation!

# # #

How to Hire HighVizPR, Part 2

Hiring a PR Firm - more than an in-house marketer
Advertisement - What we're hearing from HighVizPR clients and associates:

"Getting your company noticed is becoming rapidly more difficult as consumers are increasingly saturated with brand information. A company such as HighViz, which takes an approach that considers marketing, communications, and public relations is an advantage. ---"Chris David, Founder Venture Street http://www.venturestreet.com/

"I have found highvizpr.com to be the bridge between the demand for quality programs and speakers for companies and corporations by matching the supply of high impact speakers and trainers that HighVizPR can offer."---David K. Aaker, President Aaker and Associates http://www.davidkaaker.com/

"If [HighViz's] Abbe Buck had lived in the fifteenth century, she would have been first to invent the printing press. Her imagination and creativity in approaching her work often translates to an elegant and deployable solution. It just translates into results!"---Charles Wade CMMi Deployment Manager BAE National Security Solutions

"The buck really stops at Abbe's. God broke the mold when he gave us the PR talent that is Abbe Buck. I hope that she never leaves the business because we all need help!"----Marvin Powell, Commissioner The Fairfax County Small Business Commission

Click here for more about "HighViz-Ability"Is PR the new journalism? Read HVPR's daily PR BLOGSHVPR Top Stories

Now, for the PR Topic: Hiring a PR Firm

Here is some information for future reference * - Bookmark this pageHiring a PR Firm - HighVizPR

How can a company or individual know if it needs to hire a public relations firm?There are many factors to weigh when considering if you need to hire outside help to obtain the public relations, media relations, marketing boost, promotional or advertising assistance needed to take your company to the next level.

If you aren't completely certain, after debating the pros and cons ask these questions:

Are we getting all the PR we deserve?
Is our competition getting more than their fair share of media coverage?
Would media coverage bring more business to the firm?
Do we have a PR strategy for continuous year round media coverage?
Do we need In House PR - if so, is our in-house "PR person or department" overburdened with "in-house" work like the company newsletter?

First of all, let's define a PR firm: Some people interchange a PR firm with a marketing firm, or marketing agency, or even an ad agency. Basically a public relations firm handles media relations and is the interface between a company and the news media. Some who happen to do business development or act as majordomos, facilitating high-level introductons between corporations and organziations. This falls into the realm of marketing.A public relations firm or publicist will "pitch" the media on a story idea involving a company, invention or author. A good pitch about a story that would interest the people who read, watch or listen to a particular media outlet gets coverage. I want you to place this in mind about YOUR ORGANZIATION. Is there something that is topical that you can speak about week after week that will continue to capture the ATTENTION of the media and the public?- such as "EAS promotes new health product, to enrich lives of thousands of current and future customers", as did "Martha Stewart released from Camp Cupcake." You see, it is all relative here.

Many larger companies rely on in-house staff trained in public relations or marketing while others hire PR consultants or publicists to handle their PR campaigns. While you may not hire in-house, you may want to at least farm out an idea weekly and PUBLISH it somewhere, at least on your website to tie into product launches and promotions.

Joe Nicassio, author of Guerrilla PR Brand Manager, goes into my point even more in depth.Joe says that whether a company should conduct its public relations, marketing or advertising campaigns internally or externally should be determined by these factors (questions):Do you NEED solid, consistent media exposure week after week, or are you satisfied with "occasional" exposure? Do you have the internal staff and expertise to commit the internal resources to your public relations, marketing, advertising efforts?

If you have the internal staff, and they understand Guerrilla PR principles, then there may be no reason to hire an outside agency. Paradoxically, the busier you get, the easier it is to parlay, or "set aside" consistent, important PR activities. Don't get caught in that trap!"Public Relations is a craft that requires Passion," adds Nicassio. "You may need PR, and you may even have the people to conduct your public relations, marketing, advertising campaigns but that's not enough. To be truly effective, your PR campaigns must be conducted with Passionate Consistency."In my opinion, here is a list of reasons why it makes good business sense to hire a public relations firm to market your product or service:PR firms can get you TV and radio coverageA PR firm can get you interviewed on radio and TV.Every day thousands of interviews are conducted on TV and Radio stations across the North America and several hundred are with experts and authors. If your own in house PR person is not trying to get interviewed by the producers of those shows they won't find you because they simply don't have time to look for you amongst the many interesting people clamoring for their attention.PR firms have regular contact with national media outlets

PR firms are in regular contact journalists, editors, writers and producers from top national magazines, newspapers and radio/TV programs.When was the last time you talked to representatives from ABC's 20/20... Prime Time. CNN... People... Good Morning America... Newsweek... Publishers Weekly... Family Circle... Forbes... ABC Radio Network... Time Magazine... Dateline NBC... The View... Oprah's O magazine... Fortune Small Business... Cosmopolitan... Fox News... Good Housekeeping or Newsweek?Probably not lately. And your in-house PR person probably has not either. The reason? Your in-house person has not established the relationships with these media outlets. A PR firm with several clients can pitch one, two or three stories while talking to the same reporter or producer. An in house PR department does not have this synergy which leaves your firm out of the loop.PR firms have multiple resources such as an "experts subscription service" HighVizPR and other top PR firms belong to paid subscription services which provide dozens of leads everyday from media members looking for an expert to comment on a particular story. PR firms present you and your firm as an authority on a particular topic and request an interview. The media will, in nearly every case, mention your firm in the story as it establishes your credibility with the reader.

Your in-house person is not likely to know about this service or perhaps the several thousand dollars a year it costs to get the leads is not cost effective for a firm to buy this service. However a PR firm can spread this cost over several clients and glean the hundreds of daily queries looking for the one that may work for you.PR firms can provide media training.

Regardless of your experience most executives need media training. PR firms use media trainers to prep their clients. When you use a PR firm they have access to the best ones in the business. Why do you need one? Just watch the interview talk shows you can tell when an inexperienced executive is being interviewed. A good trainer will show you how to "plug" your company, product or service without sounding like an overbearing salesperson. The training helps you capitalize on every interview and maximize each opportunity to the fullest.A PR firm can get your press release to the top of the heap.

For your story to compete for attention in the "hard news" slot it must be compelling and people need to care about it. "On a tour of the Detroit News a couple of years ago," says Joe Nicassio. "I asked to be taken to the mailroom. There I saw 20 giant four-foot tall mailbags that come into the mailroom every day. All I could think of was how many thousands of press releases were in that pile, and how the odds of any one of them seeing the light of day were not good. If your press release is in that pile, you want your story to get to the top of the heap and a PR firm can improve your odds dramatically." Public relations professionals also have built up contacts in the media, who trust them for story ideas, and will know where to pitch a certain type of story.

As for ongoing fees most firms operate on a monthly retainer basis and a minimum time commitment ranging from a few months to a few years. The level of the fee depends upon the scope of the project. Will it take five people, one person? Is the firm interested in local, state, regional, national or international public relations? Is the firm public or private? If it's public there are more SEC required reports that need filling as well as other government regulations. All of this will affect the rate quoted.So it's best to determine what you want and then work with the firm that has a track record of accomplishments and media placement. Good PR is more than hot air; it requires continuous implementation of a well thought out strategy to get results.

The following checklist is suggested in part by Guerilla Marketing Brand Manager's Joe Nicassio to "size up" any public relations firm you are considering to hire:

Do you get along with the members of the firm? Hiring a PR agency is a collaboration that you can benefit from, month after month, year after year. Quality rapport is an essential ingredient.

Are they realistic, in terms of managing your expectations, or do they promise "pie in the sky"? It's one thing for a PR firm to promise results; it's another thing to promise "specific" results.

Maybe you'd like to get on Oprah Winfrey from the start...so would everyone else. But be prepared to take advantage of several secondary media opportunities before you get to the top tier. Several base hits can score you more runs than going for the grand slam every time.

Is the PR firm creative? Creative PR people will come up with more "angles" to test.

Do they understand how to pitch your story? A progressive PR firm will be effective AND efficient at telling your story -- yielding you more media coverage.

Do they listen to what you say? Let's face it...your PR needs are constantly evolving. Your PR firm should listen and respond to your unique, evolving needs.

Are they using a "hard sell" to get you to sign? A good PR firm is a busy PR firm. They don't need to sell you. Their track record will allow you to decide based on the evidence.

Do they have local, regional, national media contacts? When you go to a great PR firm, they have cultivated several strategic media relationships, over many years of time.

Do they have the contacts to place your story in front of the appropriate media?Did they outline a campaign game plan for you? You can predict the effectiveness of a PR firm by the soundness of their overall strategic approach.

Have you seen samples of their work? Track record comes in the form of Quality of exposure, in addition to the Quantity of exposure.

Do you feel that they will carry out your PR campaign with consistent Passion?Do you should feel comfortable with the fee and the contract? Getting good PR is a process. It requires well thought out plans, implemented with passion, and a focus on results in the form of getting your story told to the world.

So, whether you conduct your public relations efforts from within or whether you hire an outside PR firm, if media exposure is valuable to you and your firm then you must include public relations as an ongoing systematic part of your marketing mix.

# # #

HighViz Consulting Group
Abbe Buck, Principal Consultant, Publicist
Strategic Communications and Public Relations
(703) 753-4100 - 1-800-380-2825
http://www.highvizpr.com/
http://www.highvizconsulting.com/
CHALLENGE US TODAY!
Take our HighViz PR - PROMO CHALLENGE!Just 24 hours to conceptwww.highvizpr.com

PR Portfolio on PR WEB: http://www.prweb.com/firm/prf2741.htm*
Labels: guerilla, high visibility, Marketing. corporations, promotions, Public Relations

# # #

How to Hire HighVizPR - Part 1

HighViz’s step by step guide, or how Marketing + Promotion
= solid PR

1. A publicist gets press coverage (in all types of media) for their clients. Many times an Information Officer or a Business Development Manager may perform many of the same duties as publicists, only they respond passively to inquiries about promotion (they seek corporate function, or sales may be the bottom line). At HighViz, we believe that a true publicist actively seeks an interested audience in almost any venue (from a trade publication to the internet), and is, in effect, selling the image, the “brand” through marketing to the media.

2. The publicist is often the middleman between the high-profile personality or an entrepreneur with a new service or product, and members of the media. The HighViz Publicist usually wants their clients to receive positive acclaim, but many publicists surveyed by our own marketers have noted the old adage that “the only bad publicity is no publicity.” As politicians and captains of industry require a little more specific ‘spin’ on their press-they want to be seen as forward-looking and confident, we have found that a smaller or mid-range company is seeking more permanent exposure in the very same fashion as they continue to grow.

3. Publicists also perform damage control, attempting to counteract any undesirable press coverage the client receives. This position as “last line of defense” is what distinguishes the adequate publicist from the extraordinary one. Good publicists can turn scandal into opportunity and create valuable name-recognition for their clients. At HighViz, we have found that in an uncertain society (the faster things move, the more facts must be checked!) “Relationship Management” is damage control, as we strive to either defend a client, or position them in the most favorable light possible.

4. Publicists don’t only work for the famous. Our clients at HighViz might include a little-known person or industry and we create reasons for them to receive press coverage. In a case where a company desiring publicity is hampered by its “esoteric nature or technical jargon”, such as with an attorney speaking of corporate governance or Information Technology pertaining to a top Government Intelligence agency must be explained, the publicist must translate its positions into easily understandable language without losing its intended message or appeal.

5. THE DAILY GRIND (or a typical day at HighViz Consulting Group): A major part of HighViz’s publicist’s day is spent writing press releases, creating press packets, launching websites and web simulcasts, which have photos and information about the publicized person or company. Publicists spend a lot of time on the phone. As we put in long hours, we actually thrive under hectic conditions, as we must adhere to strict deadlines which coincide with publicity events, as we work with a magazine for the launch of a type of business practice or a new product in comparison to the release of a movie or the publishing of a book. It is HighViz’s Job #1 -- to ensure that we will get the appropriate information to all media (from newspaper to web simulcast) in time for the event they are generating publicity for, such as a record release or automotive sale, or a top-flight seminar. HighViz is always available for comment (even when that comment is “no comment” at all!) In this, we always remain friends with the media, no matter how demanding the desires of both clients and the reporters on whom they depend (and trust us, we love this stuff!)

So do you wonder, at the end of the day, do we go to the hottest parties in town, the ones for our clients at a movie premiere or a seminar, or at the National Press Club, The Omni Shoreham, the Mark Hopkins? (---we do attend, if you ask us to!).


Here is what we do at HighViz…..


Ø Public relations, marketing, and event planning are also conducive to our full-service infrastructure for our clients.

Ø “HighViz is a project company” Public relations, sales, promotion of a new brand, launch marketing, and event planning are also conducive to our full-service infrastructure for our clients.

Ø We firmly believe that an event planner creates events to generate interest in whatever the publicist is promoting.

Ø We also have our marketers study the community to determine how the client is perceived and how its members feel his image could be improved on an ongoing basis.

Ø Advertisers and writers often create the materials used by publicists, to which HighViz is asked to incorporate in much of our marketing, promoting and “publicizing”. As we work in this milieu, we also can determine where and how frequently the company should advertise As Booking agents are responsible for procuring venues for publicity and anticipating the effect the events will have on the client’s image, HighViz will also follow along these lines. . For instance, we believe that our customer may have to weigh the exposure that comes from being a keynote speaker at an association’s convention or corporate event to being a guest on a major talk show, holding their own against the potential friendliness or the hostility of the host!


So, talk to us….so we can talk for you! We’re at 1-800-380-2825


HighViz is a project company:
1600 Tysons Blvd., #1600, McLean, VA 22102
www.highvizpr.com
highvizpr@yahoo.com


# # #

The boss and the tao of existing in a day job - a personal haiku

i took a brief respite from HIGHVIZPR and advertisement for myself
i decided to work for a small "beltway bandit" in the underbrush of northern, va
and then
i met mr. boss, my c o.o.
he needed things done to take the firm to the next level ASAP

Suddenly i did things that could not be done before for this little corp.
Good. but is the norm for me.

then I had a surprise
all at once felt every bit my age,
then at once i am (this) 33 year old highly paid secretary,
like miss marmelstein you know,
who graduated from cc n -y,
and then i find i am just
like a giggly 15 year old back in high school.
it's been a long time since i have been 15.
like a clumsy colt at the starting gate seeking approval
i simply do not need anymore
or do i?

just like with my with my HVPR clients, i was needed!
even though i was just an 'employee',
i liked it!

would i do pr?
would i be a biz dev gal?
a facilitator to federal agencies (i cannot divulge the work,
but diverse it was and is)

but my days are numbered...
you see, i can only go so far, and then i have to move it forward -
it will be time to go
a gig is a gig'and this is not my gig

about this mr boss fellow--
is this regular joe the c .o. o. cool as in joe cool?
oh, no never in a million years.
but there is a quality about him, a rumpled lawyer look and sound,
and a stubborness that is intriguing.
to challenge it/ him would be futile.

even if i influence decisions for this company''s good,
the direction taken may not be the road i want to keep travelling.
it is a 'day job'.
someday for certain i'll want my old life back.

((( if i knew mr. c.o.o.
in another life i would throw back
the vodkas with abandon,
i surely would )))
maybe i have a little schoolgirl crush on the working dynamic,
but to be a secretary forever is not what my calling is
FOR I AM A PUBLICIST

O, Charles Grodin, where for art thou now?

--ab

Do NOT try to steal your teen's new guitar on Christmas!

... ..

Happy New Year 2007!

....

-115 and still going. No sugar, no flour, period.

Previously----
My -88 story and thanks to Gov. Huckabee are right here:

AbbeBuckPR -in the business of "High-Viz-Ability": -88 "HighViz ...
Thursday, June 22, 2006. -88 "HighViz P.R." for myself, or, I owe GOV Mike Huckabee (R-AK), a great BIG HOOAH! a HIGHVIZ Memorandum: From: Abbe Buck[PR] ...
abbebuckpr.blogspot.com/2006/06/88-highviz-pr-for-myself-or-i-owe-gov.html -

Mike Huckabee President 2008: June 2006
Abbe Buck, a Washington DC public relations specialist, says she owes Mike Huckabee "a ... ...
I lost 88 lbs in 7 mos. I have 88 to go..." Congrats, Abbe! ..."
mikehuckabeepresident2008.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_mikehuckabeepresident2008_archive.html

Stats:
My top weight was over 300 lbs.
I put down the sugar and flour 11 months ago.
I will lose another 50, perhaps even more. I MUST.
Because I am alive.
2/3 of the world are sugar and food addicts.
Are you an addict like me?
There is hope for us.

# # #

Go, Huckabee, Go! the advice you shared helped SAVE MY LIFE

--from the New York Times:

DROPS 100 LBS.: The Slenderized Governor From Arkansas, With Advice to Share...

STORY:

September 10, 2006
The Slenderized Governor, With Advice to Share

By SHAILA DEWAN

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sept. 8 — Mike Huckabee has been the governor of Arkansas for a decade, but he is most famous for what he has done in the last three years: lose more than 100 pounds and encourage other Arkansans to follow his example.

As he contemplates a bid for the Republican nomination for president in 2008, the slenderized governor has inspired a host of imitators, including Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, who shed 33 pounds, and Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, who promised in June to go on a diet. These and other Southern politicians say they are trying to set an example for their constituents, who exhibit the highest rates of obesity in the country.

But for those who would join the health crusade, Mr. Huckabee’s tale includes a cautionary thread. In the South, the fight against obesity is essentially a culture war. And while the campaign may have raised Mr. Huckabee’s national profile, not everyone here appreciates a governor whose policies include weighing schoolchildren and sending home report cards on their body mass index.

Mr. Huckabee, a teetotaler who now rises before dawn to jog five miles, has been accused of nagging the populace, banning birthday cakes in schools (not true, he says) and trampling the personal freedoms of smokers with an indoor smoking ban. While he says he uses the carrot, not the stick, to encourage better health, his virtue alone has a way of making people like Pearletha David, the owner of David Family Kitchen, a soul food restaurant here, feel henpecked.

“I think it’s fine for him,” Ms. David said, putting her hands on her hips. “But he ain’t got to make the whole state lose weight.”

After the governor’s nutritional guidelines for school lunches took effect, one girl wrote a letter to him demanding “real food” like nachos and pizza. A columnist for The Baxter Bulletin imagined a future of diners picking at their “sautéed soybeans with flavor-free dressing” and discussing the criminalization of cheese curls.

Despite the efforts, the state’s obesity rate among adults has actually increased since last year, according to the Trust for America’s Health.

Mr. Huckabee counters that changing dietary habits is a long-term, generational project, and says that in three years of recording children’s body mass index and reporting it to parents, the number of children at risk of obesity has decreased — by half of 1 percent.

Mr. Huckabee knows what he is up against, namely all-you-can-eat buffets, cheese grits and a local ice cream flavor called Woo Pig Chewy. One of his own family dogs is named Sonic, after the fast-food chain whose cherry limeades are favored by his wife, Janet.

“It’s not just your culture,” he said, speaking in his office in the Capitol building. “It’s your comfort.”

But Mr. Huckabee insists that a lifestyle revolution can happen, citing four behaviors that have been reshaped over the years by concerted government effort: littering, seatbelt use, smoking and drunken driving.

“In each of those cases, in my lifetime, I have seen the needle move from one side to the other,” he said. “People used to throw entire sacks of trash out of their cars without thinking it was inappropriate.”

Mr. Huckabee’s health obsession began in 2003, when he received a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, which can sometimes be controlled by diet and exercise. At the time, he weighed close to 300 pounds.

With the help of doctors at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the governor went on a strict diet and began to exercise, shedding weight so rapidly that it was as if he simply unzipped a fat suit and stepped out. He wrote a book called “Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork.” In March 2005, he ran the Little Rock marathon in 3 hours 38 minutes.

But Mr. Huckabee’s change of eating habits has put him in another sort of bubble. He no longer eats at banquets and receptions. He keeps a cooler of food in his car. On a recent day, an acquaintance started to offer him a slice of homemade cheesecake, then stopped herself. “I’d give it to you, but then I’d be digging your grave with a fork and a plastic knife,” she said.

The governor insists he does not want to create a “nanny state” or a “grease police.” Many of his policies include incentives like exercise breaks for state employees. He has expanded state insurance coverage to cover obesity treatment. He advocated restricting access to vending machines for high school students and replacing the sugary sodas in them with juice and water.

Arkansas is one of a handful of states where the nutritional guidelines for school lunches are stricter than the federal requirements.

But some critics say Mr. Huckabee’s crusade has more rhetoric than substance. Part of his Healthy Arkansas initiative is to give a seal of approval to restaurants that offer healthful alternatives and nutritional information, but critics point out that the list of 106 restaurants includes a Burger King, a Pizza Hut and 52 McDonald’s.

The policy that has brought the most attention to the governor, however, was not his initiative. In the spring of 2003, Herschel W. Cleveland, then the Arkansas House speaker, introduced a bill to remove vending machines from elementary schools and send home the body mass index report cards.

The bill passed easily, but the public generally did not notice until Mr. Huckabee had become the health governor. The news made national headlines and brought vehement objections from parents concerned about government intrusion and fragile young egos, recalled the sponsor, State Representative Jay Bradford, a Democrat, who spoke by telephone from his office in Pine Bluff. “I’m also thin, by the way,” Mr. Bradford added.

For those who would change Southern eating habits, though, there is always the problem of tradition and identity. And though Mr. Huckabee is not naïve, his strategy for tackling the issue is optimistic. “There’s much more to celebrate in a person’s health than there is about just what they eat,” he said.

Comment: he is right about that.

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Glenn Ford, 1916 - 2006

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From the Los Angeles Times: How topical it is today!

As a commander in the Naval Reserve, Ford spent a month in South Vietnam in 1967.

Accompanied by a Marine Corps camera crew, he filmed combat locations for "Global Marine," a documentary training movie for recruits.

"People who come out here for a visit and go back with pat opinions about how the war is going to be won are fools," Ford told The Times at the end of his trip to the war zone.

"This is a vicious war, a unique war, with no simple answer, but I think the complicated problem we face here cannot be appraised and judged by anyone who has not been here."

Naval Commander Ford, who was the Brad Pitt of his day, (trust me on that!) knew what it was all about. He never won an oscar. Never even had a nomination in the academy (but he made sure William Holden had the win for "Stalag 17" in 1953 by sacrificing his own nom). This journeyman actor could play drama, comedy and [all of those] westerns with style. I became a fan once he stopped making movies, but what a discovery!

http://www.armyarcherd.com/2006/08/glenn_ford_reme.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-ford31aug31,1,7553049.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

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EMMY: it's a big country. Leave Conan O'Brien alone. Sic NBC

http://hotair.com/archives/2006/08/27/emmy-parodies-planecrash-hours-after-kentucky-accident/

[ i liked bob newhart locked in the glass case submeged in water for 1111:0000 hrs much bettah!]

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NO Mission Impossible 4! - Tom Cruise dumped by Paramount - studios are sick of being pushed around

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a) So, Paramount does not want to make a deal, and Redstone publicly lays out the "scandal" card.
b) Cruise and his partners lash out
c) Tom Cruise's baby no where to be seen publicly - was Holmes pregnancy real or ruse?

PARAMOUNT severs ties with Tom Cruise... Behavior of star 'unacceptable'...Wagner: Redstone's comments 'outrageous and disrespectful'...Studios 'sick of being pushed around'... After 14 years...Who's Crazier: VIACOM or Tom? (-Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, CNN Money)

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/viacom-tells-wsj-tom-cruise-dumped/
---just click on this link for everything you need on this story. Nikki Finke knows IT ALL.

I just LOVE the way this woman writes!

LATEST COLUMN ON DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD:

War of the Worlds Cruise And Redstone do battle – prepare for a true epic.
By NIKKI FINKE August 22, 2006

If there’s suddenly a litmus test for insanity to be administered by Hollywood moguls, then start with the studio’s executive suites. That’s my reaction to the are-you-shitting-me pronouncement by Viacom Inc. chairman Sumner Redstone that his Paramount Pictures is terminating its 14-year relationship with Tom “Crazy” Cruise’s production company because of the actor’s controversial and erratic off-screen behavior hurt the theatrical grosses of Mission Impossible 3. [more]


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a potentially damned fine interview aborted - those hollyweird tee-vee idiots do it again

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-----Original Message-----
From: Frances Kuffel [mailto: * * * * * * * * * * * ]
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:53 AM
To: adorable me
Subject: la-la land

Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes.

John Le Carré

+++

I went to Los Angeles for 62 hours to do a new talk show. I had been cut from the script. I got home at 1 a.m. & am now, barely, mobile, off to collect Boomer & reunite with Daisy. I feel like Anna Karenina if she'd
survived the train.

Or maybe I feel like a bouillon cube sitting in a pool of boiling water...

love, frances

-------------------------------------

Frances Kuffel ("Passing for Thin") was out in LA to do an interview and possibly(?) to secure rights for having a movie made from her great book (her book was my and many others inpirations to KICK flour + sugar and addiction food + eating). (NOTE: I have found since from Frances' comment that this was not the case...)

So, she does this talk show, natch, then gets cut! MORONS! She is making the right news. The right message. But do they get it? Nope. (this is way beyond "The Beverly Hills Diet" meets "Jenny Craig" I guess...) Am I surprised? Nope. That is why I did my little good deed for The Society of Singers, Glenn Ford, Agua Caliente in Palm Springs and then, QUIT. I am not cut out for LA, although I would like to walk on the red carpet just once in my lifetime for s---s and giggles! I do so love driving the Pacific Coast Highway, too.

Frances' message matters. I am proud to say that I gave an interview that she used as part of the pitch for her next book -- which is what happens to us who do try to deal with the addiction to food/certain foods, lose weight, and then...fall...off ...the wagon....and many of us do! The important thing is that we get back on! It can be painful, but it can also be glorious! The IMPORTANT thing is that there is no reason to give up, we need to TRY.

My little story was part of Frances' book pitch to her publisher (thanks, Frances, it was my pleasure (smile) --) for I lost 140 once upon a time, gained it back and more! ---and have just RE-LOST my 103rd pound after many years. But this time I am dealing with more than just a diet or a weight loss club "CLUB". They don't last for a person like me. I am, dealing day in and day out with an addictive dis-ease, period.

Abbe B. - 103 to-day.

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Keith Olbermann's Nazi Salute - just another way to get attention-- and MORE ratings?

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Click here first to see the letter from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League about Keith Olbermann:

http://www.adl.org/media_watch/tv/20060728-MSNBC.htm (the link)

Okay. But, hey, if Mel Brooks can make an entire INDUSTRY out of making fun out of Hitler, what's the fuss? Betcha Big bad Brother Bill O'Reilly called the ADL (HEH HEH HEH)

---but ask yourselves, is O'Reilly like Adolf Hitler? Pulleaze. But if Hebe's (Hebrew boys) like Keith-boy want to "Seig Heil", well, hell, have at it! Keith's a Hebe. Mel Gibson has an Israeli bodyguard. JESUS WAS JEWISH. FACE IT. YOU CANNOT ERADICATE US! We are all JEWISH! (PASTE STAR OF DAVID HERE) YES YES YES! ((( O'Reilly secretly wishes he were a Hebe. I know this is true. )))

http://newsbusters.org/taxonomy/term/185

GOP Bloggers :: Keith Olbermann's Nazi Salute
Keith Olbermann's Nazi Salute. Robert Cox over at Olbermann Watch alerts us to ...

MSNBC Pres. Rick Kaplan Resigns.... The Huffington Post
Yes, but Keith Olbermann (who is Jewish as well) won't touch the Zionazi Rabbis shown in the picture at the following URL: http://www.davidduke.com/?p=531. ...www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/06/07/msnbc-pres-rick-kaplan-r_n_22455.html - 39k - Cached - Similar pages

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Dateline: Healthy Arkansas: Should be Blueprint for US

Memorandum to Joe Quinn, Policy Director, Gov. Mike Huckabee, (R-AR)

REF: http://www.arkansas.gov/ha/nutrition/

Diabetes • Obesity • Physical Activity • Tobacco Use • Worksite Wellness • BMI • Understanding BMI • Changing the Culture of Health: a Blueprint for Communities

Note for Gov.'s office: Gov. Mike Huckabee is getting (the) message across the miles. We owe his gentle prodding (in his wonderful book) a debt of gratitude! We need to carry the message to all who still suffer.

Abbe B.

ps: I lost another 14 lbs (grin) - it's a definite work in progress.

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