Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

MA U.S. Senate Race - Microcosm of How Nothing Is Predictable, Not Any More

In Massachusetts, U.S. Senate incumbent Ed Markey could be in for the fight of his life.

Or, maybe not.

Markey, in his 70s, is already opposed by labor-lawyer hero Shannon Liss-Riordan. Her signature is representing contract drivers against Uber to obtain the legal classification as "employee."

But, that grand mission became accomplished when California AB-5 was signed into law by the Governor Gavin Newsom. Usually what happens in CA spreads throughout the nation. So much for Liss-Riordan's branding as lawyer friend of the gig worker. The CA legislature and executive branch took care of that, thank you.

Obviously, that particular political force is somewhat neutralized.

The meme of high uncertainty in today's world washes across the consciousness of the watchers of the MA U.S. Senate race.

Another supposed threat to Markey has been U.S. Congressman Joe Kennedy III. Although he filed to run, he continues to do a Hamlet. Obviously, before declaring himself a candidate, Kennedy is analyzing his chances of winning against Markey.

What Kennedy would have going for him could be two things.

One is the Kennedy branding in MA, along with its fundraising force field.

The other is his age. Come on, admit it, there is age bias in America. That stink follows Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders around. It surfaced in the last Democratic debate. 

But, not so fast about the Kennedy edges. They could be neutralized by the ability of Markey to obtain the endorsements of two high-profile influential politicos. 

As Boston Magazine reports, AOC announced she is supporting Markey. They're allies in championing the Green New Deal. With Dorian and more there had been more attention to the impacts of climate change. AOC has gained new credibility. You bet, residents of the U.S. are getting it that they have to factor climate change into everything from where to live (maybe not coastal Florida) to where to invest (maybe not fossil fuels).

Also, Elizabeth Warren is for Markey. She is navigating the early campaign better than expected. And she could be the last one standing. Since she's a woman that could make her a publicity magnet.

It could be said that what is going on in MA mirrors the Uncertainty as Standard that dominates global, national, state, and local matters. 

Consequently, those who decide to take a certain course of action can't predict how that will play out in their careers and long-term branding. Liss-Riordan can look naive for taking on Markey. Kennedy's Hamlet act can irritate voters in MA. The residue could be: Another Kennedy manipulating us.

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Aging, Professional Realities, and Extreme Payoff from Embracing New Truths

Professionals over-50 come to me for career coaching or ghostwriting a book for them primarily for this cluster of reasons.

They sense they're no longer at the top of their game.

They fear others also perceive them that way.

And they observe that their competitors are younger than they are and armed with tools, such as technical wizardry, they don't have.

After listening to them, I usually have to agree that their professional identity is in transition.

Probably everything has changed and continues to change. And they may never recapture the extreme mastery they had of their former game.

In addition, there is the reality, especially since The Great Recession, of cost-efficiency in organizations. They are at a high salary. The organization decision-makers could determine that is too high. Soon a much lower-paid millennial replaces them.

The irony is that once they embrace those developments, they find the insight and drive to play better the cards they hold and to figure out how to get some better cards.

One professional in a prestigious public relations firm, for example, knew she was losing ground. While her brand still had some clout, she conducted a stealth search for a leadership communications job in a nonprofit. That's where she is now.

A hair salon owner, whose customer base was shrinking, sold the shop when it was still marketable. He didn't get what he had hoped for but it was enough to fund an entrepreneurial effort in selling online specialty hair products. It looks like he could reach the breakeven point within another year.

A nonequity partner in a law firm saw the handwriting on the wall. He was no longer able to bring in enough new business. Unfortunately, he didn't put together a career transition before he was let go in a stealth layoff. But he has been receiving interviews for a variety of positions in which he can leverage his legal background.

Of course, there are the professionals whose careers aren't impacted by the combination of industry change and aging.

But if you're not among them, you can still enjoy a fulfilling professional life. Only it may be different from what you had mapped out in your mind. Here, free to download, is my book on finding your way out of your comfort zone. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on aging.

 For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

It's Come to This: Purdue Pharma Files for Bankruptcy Protection

"Purdue Pharma LP filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday night with a partial deal aimed at resolving thousands of lawsuits filed by states and municipalities accusing it of fueling the opioid crisis." Sara Randazzo and Jared S. Hopkins, The Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2019. Here is the article.

The filing had been in federal bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York. This will halt current litigation. That probably means that the landmark trial scheduled for next month in Ohio will be called off. A number of local government lawsuits had been centralized in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Purdue Pharma indicated it will continue to operate as a trust in order to provide compensation to plaintiffs. Among those suing had been just about every state, 2,600 cities, Native American tribes, and hospitals. The Department of Justice had also begun civil and criminal probes of Purdue Pharma.

Some members of the family who owned the  company - the Sacklers - had been named as defendants in a number of the lawsuits.  They had had leadership positions or served on the board. But no member has filed for personal bankruptcy. As expected, recipients of the family philanthropy are cutting ties with the Sacklers.  

This is a catastrophic downfall for a business which had been hailed as a leader in pain management. Also, the family is being shamed in probably an irreversible manner. Allegedly, they had attempted to conceal funds in secret overseas accounts. 

Not getting results from your marketing communications? Complimentary consultation – janegenova374@gmail.com.

When "the centre cannot hold" - Society's Institutions Seem So Clueless (e.g. tragedy in Edgewood, PA)

According to records, reports the Daily Mail, law enforcement had been called several times to 318 Garland Street, Edgewood, Pennsylvania. The reason had been domestic disputes associated with mental illness.

However, that intervention didn't prevent the play-out of tragedy.

While the daughter in the family was getting married yesterday, the father, whose name has not been released, was home alone. It seems he tampered with the gas line. The objective seemed to be engineering his own suicide by having the house explode. That it did. Eventually his body was found in the debris.

The institutions of society, ranging from law enforcement to scientific research, have discovered so little about managing the human heart.

The barbarians of violence and self-harm remain at the gate.

All too often in these times when, to quote W.B. Yeats, "the centre cannot hold," they make it through all those artificial barriers like respectability and hope that tomorrow will be better. 

Can local law enforcement pilot follow-up programs for domestic violence that reach into the human heart and initiate a shift in feeling? 

Not getting results from your marketing communications? Complimentary consultation – janegenova374@gmail.com.

"Reputation Laundering" - Not Only Open to the 1% Like Jeffrey Epstein (actually it's a moving part of The American Dream)

Despite the Sixth Amendment - the right to a defense - superlawyers such as David Boies have been criticized for pulling out all stops assisting their clients.

Forever will resonate Jason Farrow's outing of this in The New Yorker. However, the reality is this: Boies' law firm continues to be in demand. Unlike the warrior in the film "John Wick 3," Boies has not had imposed on him an "excommunicado."

But the legal defense is only a part, perhaps a relatively small one, in the parallel universe that those with significant resources can operate. 

Before, during, and after that win in the court of law could come what John Naughton The Guardian essentially labels as "reputation laundering." The analysis fingers the MIT Media Lab as the platform for the attempt to restore Jeffrey Epstein's brand. 

Rebranding, just like many defenses in the court of law, requires strategic genius, money, and its own kind of morality. The latter mirrors capitalism's notion of paying for a service.

In reputation laundering that payment is usually high. Over the years, Epstein donated large sums to the MIT Media Lab and motivated those on his global network to also contribute.

According to current norms, society now demands that process be transparent.

Had the MIT Lab disclosed in detail those financial windfalls, perhaps members of the media, including Ronan Farrow again in The New Yorker, wouldn't have this issue to cover.

Actually, it's an ideal one for the ambitious media. More recently, Harvard has also been outed as accepting Epstein's contributions and appointing him as a "fellow" (a kind of professor) in the psychology department. At a time when many have become weary of national politics, this particular story has legs.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the defense.

But there is no constitutional guarantee that the influential institutions in society will continue to allow reputation laundering. Businesses, such as public relations firms, could be, yes, be stamped with an "excommunicado" decree if they accept a rebranding assignment for what is perceived as a questionable cause or an enemy of the people. 

The Verge is among the communications sources which reported that disgraced media tycoon Roger Ailes was planning a comeback. After his non-compete provision with Fox News ended, he, assisted with venture capitalist Peter Thiel's funding, was envisioning a rival to Fox. That would be another kind of conservative cable network. 

Likely, a moving part in that would have had to be reputation restoration. Could Ailes' long-time personal public relations representative Bob Dilenschneider been assigned that project? Could that mission of reinvention be pulled off?

Many Ailes watchers never counted him out to time travel to an undiscovered planet of accomplishment. What seems unthinkable simply might be conceived within a framework lacking imagination and push.

It was before prison that Nixon Administration lawyer Chuck Colson seemed to begin to self-launder his reputation. He found and shared spirituality. When he died the obituaries hailed his contribution to humanity. 

What could be crossing the minds of those not perched on the top rungs of the socio-economic ladder in America is deep resentment. They assume that they are locked out of the shot at reputation laundering. On the agenda for ending inequality could be tutorials on the art of rebranding.

But that hostility may arise from a lack of a capacity to envision what's possible. In reality, nobodies pull off every day overcoming how they initially are perceived and treated.

The warm and fuzzy term for that is "The American Dream." Like Colson, it was in prison that Malcom X laundered his reputation. The transition was from street thug to respected leader.

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Brand Jones Day - Another Blow

The confidentiality of grand jury testimony is protected.

So, that should have been redacted in the motion by Jones Day to dismiss "US v. Indivior." Here is that motion. The lawsuit alleged fraud in the marketing of an opioid. 

It turns out the redaction process, which Jones Day partner Jams Wooley used at the Cleveland office, didn't conceal that testimony. And, U.S. Magistrate Pamela Sargent wants to know why that occurred and how Jones Day will prevent such errors in the future.

Jones Day has already submitted and explanation and an apology but the court has not yet replied. Here are more details by Law.com.

Wooley, who is overseeing the defense, indicated that the software designed to redact data such as the grand jury testimony was not used in that particular filing. Only Word and Acrobat had been. A member of the media was able to ferret out the testimony.

This error draws more unwanted attention to Jones Day. A recent pile-on of lawsuits alleging gender/parental discrimination by former associates has put it in the media for the wrong reasons. The timing of those lawsuits is lousy for Jones Day. This is the era of #MeToo and the struggle for balance between work and family.

Not getting results from your marketing communications? Complimentary consultation – janegenova374@gmail.com.

"Rich v. Fox News" - Credibility of Conservative Cable Network Could Be Hurt During 2020 Election

If Joel and Mary Rich know how to gain publicity their lawsuit against Fox News could tarnish that brand. Here are the details of that saga from BusinessInsider. 

Their son Seth Rich, a DNC player, had been murdered in July 2016. Law enforcement weighs in that the motivation had probably been robbery and that went very wrong. 

That's not what those at Fox News put out there. They speculated Rich was murdered to conceal the leak of emails to Wikileaks. Fox News tends to connect the dots on supposed conspiracy theories. Although conspiracy theories attract viewers, the tactic can be legally risky.

In response how Fox News positioned and packaged the murder, on March 13, 2018, the Rich family filed a lawsuit against Fox News and two specific employees - Malia Zimmerman and Ed Butowsky. They contended emotional distress from the conspiracy narrative. Here is a copy of that complaint. 

The lawsuit was tossed. The family appealed to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Here is a copy of that appeal.

The Second Circuit ruled the lawsuit can proceed. Lenny Gail represents the Rich family.

Fox News indicates it stands by its original coverage and predicts it will be cleared during the discovery process. Here are more details. 

During this 2020 Election it would handicap conservative candidates if shade is thrown on the credibility of Fox reporting.

Not getting results from your marketing communications? Complimentary consultation – janegenova374@gmail.com.

Student Loan Folly - An Equal Opportunty for All Generations

The generational wars continue.

This time the hostility between those under 45 and those 45 or older focuses on student loan debt.

A new survey by CreditRepair.com, reports MarketWatch, found that 1/3rd of those who are no longer young perceived that enormous financial problem as mostly the fault of the young. Almost 20% believe that Millennials should be working harder to pay it off. And, 25% sneer if the Millennials haven't hunted around for a lower interest rate. 

In coaching those over-50 about remaining in the workforce, what frequently comes up is their puzzlement how the young got into such a pickle. After all, they themselves graduated with maybe a few thousands dollars in student loans, not the $223,000 nut mentioned in the MarketWatch article which Alf Seccomb has to keep paying on.

Specifically the over-50 question:

Why Millennials attended "the college of their choice" instead of the lowest cost state university.

The choice of studying all the time to get the "A" instead of picking up part-time jobs. A job would not only cut down the amount borrowed. It would give real world professional experience which could be put on a resume.

Not investigating which majors yield the highest income. In that way, loans could be paid off more quickly.

However, there are also some of the over-50 I coach who are considering enrolling in an expensive academic program which could also saddle them with loans.

For example, they dream about going for a master degree in a line of study which they see as highly marketable. Usually that represents financial suicide. Because of their age, they may graduate and not land well-paying jobs in those fields. Many tech categories of jobs involve some form of age bias. In addition, that industry, like so many others, might downsize after they receive their degree.

Meanwhile the student loan montly payment goes on and on. According to the Federal Reserve, notes CNBC, the over-50 demographic owes $260 billion in student loans. And the Consumer Financial Proetection Bureau found that 40% of the over-65 are in default on payments. 

The financial reality both the young and aging don't seem to embrace is that there is no necessary correlation between academic degrees and sustained compensation from applying that to earning a good living.

Investing in a oil-industry related field degree might come to folly when that particular industry flips into recession. Today's growth field might be a shrinking opportunity in five years. By time that particular industry recover, age discrimination may operate against the over-50 in being rehired. 

Here, free to click open, is my guide to how to land, hold, and move on to better work, at any age Download Outwitting ageism. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Andrew McCabe - Still on a Roller Coaster

Things are changing rapidly in the Andrew McCabe saga. 

Recently, media headlines blared that the Department of Justice was planning to file criminal charges and that an indictment was likely coming.

That was then.

Now, reports Daily Mail, sources indicate that the grand jury didn't agree on an indictment. By law, a new grand jury can be put together. 

In response, McCabe's lawyer Michael Bromwich sent a letter to Attorney General asking that another grand jury not be reconvened. Instead, either make the charges or dismiss the whole thing. Here is a copy of the letter. 

Also, it's useful to keep in mind that McCabe had filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and the FBI. That is "Andrew McCabe v. William Barr, et al." Here is a copy of the complaint.

That represented his push-back after he had been fired for alleging leaking to the media unauthorized material about the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton's email. That firing took place a day before his retirement. Therefore, he lost out on his pension.

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Felicity Huffman Sentencing - Message Sent to Glam Crowd?

Today, Judge Indria Talwani imposed a multi-faceted sentence on actress Felicity Huffman. The latter has been fading from her glam self since her arrest in the college admission cheating scandal.

The actual jail time was lite: 14 days. Huffman has to report to do that time in six weeks.

In addition, the sentence entails:

$30,000 fine

250 hours of community service

A year of supervision after release from jail.

Judge Talwani also delivered a stern lecture to Huffman.

The prosecution wanted more jail time. However, in terms of long-term humiliation, Huffman has already suffered plenty.

Will this send a message to the players of the current gilded age that the rules apply to them too?

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