Blog Catalog

I Have Nothing Against Mothers

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

Ann Romney hasn't worked a day in her life. - Hilary Rosen

Some of my favorite people are moms (Hey, Yvonne!) I still have a mom. But, now that the outrage has died down a bit, I encourage us to not forget the key point.

Ms. Romney was not attacked for being a "stay-at-home" mom. Hilary Rosen (a mom herself) wasn't saying mothers don't work. What she was trying to say (albeit, badly) was Ms. Romney can't relate to what many women face every day - economic uncertainty, tight budgets, and low-paying jobs. Yet, she's the one that her husband apparently relies on for the "woman's perspective."

Of course, the kersnuffle was a gift to the Romney campaign. Ms. Romney was even overheard saying the remark was an "early birthday gift" and told an NRA conference that she was "proud to have stayed at home."

Updated: April 24th, 2012 at 01:35 pm  |  Posted: April 23rd, 2012 at 02:16 pm
Related Posts: working mothers ann romney posts by mary schmidt war on women war on moms

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes... Oh My!

by Yvonne DiVita

I hate taxes. Well, not taxes, per se. I mean, they serve a purpose. I support those less fortunate than I (remembering when I was one of them), and I believe in sharing - so, I don't mind paying taxes. What I hate is the yearly April necessity of figuring out my taxes. <sigh> I don't think I'm alone.

Here's the thing - despite my promise every year not to let April 15th (April 17th this year) sneak up on me, it does. Despite my firm decision to pay attention, save receipts in a file, and get organized, I don't. And, while I am smart enough to hire someone to do my taxes, I am not smart enough to have hired help to get organized.

This is not a post about getting ready for 2012 Tax season...although, it could be. Even though the filing date is long past - sharing thoughts now would fit in with my tax relationship - a

Updated: April 24th, 2012 at 01:35 pm  |  Posted: April 22nd, 2012 at 10:54 am
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Dealing with Hate Mongers

by Yvonne DiVita

Some people just don't like you. Reasonably or unreasonably, no matter what you do, they will find fault with you. On the Internet, hate is easy to share - after all, as the saying goes, "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog."

I've had more than my share of hate mongers. A few years ago, I was attacked by a rather distasteful blogger who accused me of running a scam business with my print-on-demand company. He got all his writer friends to post nasty things about me - even though he and I had not only never done business together, we'd never met. He happened to read an article I wrote on another blog - showing the growing trend of traditional publishers to tapping into bloggers. No amount of proof I presented would change his mind - I was a scam artist and anyone who worked with me was throwing their money away.

It

Updated: April 24th, 2012 at 01:35 pm  |  Posted: April 22nd, 2012 at 10:18 am
Related Posts: business writing current affairs word of mouth marketing on the internet

How Have Swipe Fees Affected Everyday Banking?

Guest post by Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO, Cardhub

What do rapper Lil Wayne, television personality Suze Orman, and comedian George Lopez have in common with checking accounts? Oddly enough, all were affected in one way or another by the Durbin Amendment, the legislation that instructed the Federal Reserve to cap debit card swipe fees at roughly $0.24 per transaction, inadvertently leading to a growing market for celebrity prepaid card endorsers.

You see, legislators originally took from the banks the power to charge merchants whatever they wanted for debit card use in the hopes that it would lead to lower prices for consumers and thereby jump-start the economy. But we're instead seeing higher checking account fees and a restructuring of the payments landscape, in which prepaid cards - a natural checking account alternative - are stea

Updated: April 24th, 2012 at 01:35 pm  |  Posted: April 22nd, 2012 at 07:26 am
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Friday Musings: Hungry?

by Yvonne DiVita

In reference to the title today, have you read The Hunger Games books? Have you seen the first movie?

Well, I have. Read all three books and seen the movie. And, I'm left... unimpressed. Actually, I'm left feeling sad. THIS is what passes for good reading today? THIS is how low our expectations of novel and movie greatness have fallen?

Let's look at the big picture - first of all, the plot is absurd. The first job of any fiction story is to overcome the reader's disbelief. In other words, the reader needs to believe in the story. The deeper I got into the hunger games, the less I believed.

Suzanne Collins wants me, a mother, to believe I would someday be forced to deliver up one of my children to certain death, and that I would do it for the good of the 'district.' I

Updated: April 24th, 2012 at 01:35 pm  |  Posted: April 20th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
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