DIALOGUEletters
Debate goes on
Member comments
Thumbs up for Gifted Hands
I was thrilled to see Dr. Ben Carson on
your cover [“The quiet hero,” December 2010].
Just three weeks ago, I watched the movie
made about his life, Gifted Hands. It is inspirational on so many levels. Dr. Carson overcame overt racism from the outside and
negative “I am stupid” messages from the inside—initially due to the vision of his mother.
Thank you, Costco, for honoring Dr. Ben
Carson by sharing his story with millions
of other Costco members. You have given all
of us a holiday gift by doing so.
Gena Galenski
Marin County, California
up and up, and that both sides of a “deal” or
transaction are served equally.
Costco as a company is a fine example of
what I’m saying.
Does one need to stay vigilant? Yes. Are
the David Horowitzes valuable? Yes. I just take
issue with David’s negative characterization
of business.
Ken Mann
Las Vegas, Nevada
In response to the December
Debate, “Is it ever OK to walk
away from an ‘upside-down’
mortgage?”
MEDIA BAKERY
The article on Dr. Ben Carson was inspiring. I was troubled, however, by Dr. Carson’s
assertion that “poverty is a choice.” Yes, hard
work is important and a clear path out of poverty, but not everyone has the mother to build
discipline and provide encouragement. Often
without a stable, loving environment, many
young people are angry or emotionally needy.
I applaud Dr. Carson’s program to recognize young scholars. I hope we can do more to
help young people to reach the point that they
want to learn and excel.
YES. These days it doesn’t necessarily send a
bad message. If you are over your head in
debt, and not getting help from the mortgage
company, restarting is a great thing to do.
Clayton McGhie
Brandywine, Maryland
Mark Bradley
Villanova, Pennsylvania
NO. Ultimately, everyone else will end up
paying for it. When you sign those papers,
that’s your loan and you should pay for it.
Corinne Redmond
Pooler, Georgia
In response to the November
Debate, “Should the sponsors
of political ads be identified?”
Profiles of success
Consider the pro option
Mark Shapiro’s article [“Lights, camera,
action: Video can be a moving tool for your
business,” December 2010] is for the most
part right on.
However, one of his facts is misguided
when he presents the choice that business
owners can spend a lot of money on a video
marketing campaign or do it themselves.
It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to
hire a professional. Prices can range from
$300 to $1,400 for a series of videos.
Just as with other businesses, such as tax
preparation, brochure printing and legal advice, there will be a noticeable difference in
picture and audio quality, storytelling and
graphics between the do-it-yourself video
compared to one done by a video production
professional. An owner must weight those aspects, along with the fact that it will most
likely take them four times the amount of
time to figure out how to do an online video.
Doing one wrong could hurt your business
brand more than help it. Before going the do-it-yourself route they should present their idea for
an online video to local Web video production
firms and get quotes for the project.
Christopher Brown
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
YES. The Supreme Court ruling allowed the
corporations and special interests to spend
billions of dollars—undisclosed—to buy government influence in every election.
Gerard Sanchez, Sr.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Monthly
reader
survey
NO. Freedom requires free speech, so transparency must be voluntary.
Robert Eubanks
Phoenix, Arizona
Good-natured business
I take exception to David Horowitz’s open-
ing two sentences in his article [“Tip-offs to
rip-offs,” December 2010]: “Ever since the first
business transactions, people on one side of a
deal have received a little more than they gave.
This, I am afraid, is the nature of business.”
Are there bad apples in every industry?
Yes. Are there some unscrupulous business-
people who try to rip you off? Yes. Is this the
“nature of business”? No.
In my experience, I would say that more
than 95 percent of business is conducted on the
Have something to say?
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The Connection. Please include your full name and phone number or address. Send an
e-mail to
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34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088; or fax to (425) 313-6718. The editors reserve the right to
edit letters for publication.
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