The Smiths and Joneses (16 page)

Bars and restaurants are packed with customers cheering when their country’s hosts drove their point home. They pumped their fists up and down when they thought their host won his point; they booed most of the other side’s host’s comments. There was as much excitement as if they were watching a major sporting event. There had already been three different petitions posted on the LSA “Gray House” site, asking the LSA president to intercede in the program by having Sean removed as a host. At the same time, the White House website had two petitions with over a million signatures demanding the removal of Wolf from the program. Neither petition meant a thing since both the Gray House and the White House agreed that neither would interfere in the program.

              When the Jones family was introduced, every voice was quiet, everyone wanted to meet the USA’s family. Many in the LSA thought their home was a waste of space, some remarked they wanted their cars, many missed their German built luxury cars.

When it was announced that Carol worked for a start-up, many sat silent. Start-ups had begun in Silicon Valley, California, but today there are very few new private companies started in the LSA. The progressives held that the government controlled employment and technology. Silicon Valley, under the LSA, lost their birthing hand at bringing new companies and technologies to market. The new laws and regulations implemented for starting a business in the LSA surprised many of the venture capitalists, 80% of them requested visas to move to the USA. The new process for starting a private company in the LSA is for a new company’s technologist to approach the LSA government technology committee with their proposal. If the committee approved the proposal, the LSA central government funded the launch in exchange for 90% of the company. Employment numbers and location of the new company were then agreed to. Every new company had to agree to hire a certain number of people every year and locate where the government told them. The LSA central government took an ownership position in any IPO and all patents. No company could go public without the central government’s approval which was usually withheld, to avoid a new class of “Nouveau riche” which would break the “everyone is equal” philosophy of the LSA. The founders had to sign a formal employment agreement that included a non-compete and an agreement to assist the company even if they quit, for a period of five years.

This differed from the start-up process in the USA, which followed the “Silicon Valley” model; which funded start-ups with the intent to take them public or sell them to larger companies within five years, hopefully realizing a large return. In exchange for the risk of the start-up capital, the venture funds usually took between 51% and 65% of the company’s shares. Many of the people’s goal in the United States is to become quickly as wealthy as possible. One of the largest differences between the LSA and the USA is based on how they view people. The LSA wants all of their people to be equal at the finish line; the USA wants their people to be equal at the starting line.

              Sean says, “From my perspective, it looks like the Jones family is a normal, healthy USA family. They’re teaching their children how to grow up to be responsible adults.”

              Wolf says, “Wait a minute Sean. How can you say they’re raising their children to be responsible? They’re not home when their children arrive home from school. Someone could snatch them. I think the LSA has a much better system with automatic day care after school. Then we have the issue of Mrs. Jones making her two children lunch versus buying it at the school. Her children don’t get the benefit of a hot meal, nor are we sure the two are getting the best available lunch.”

              Sean picks up on Wolf’s points, “Wolf, who says Carol doesn’t know what’s best for her own children?”

              “I don’t think the raising of children should be left to just one or two parents. The children are our future. I think the LSA has the better idea. The entire community supporting and assisting the children in the town is a better idea.”

              Sean replies, “That’s one of the questions we hope the people watching will have to decide. Both countries have taken a different path in preparing for their futures. Let’s rejoin the Jones family.” Returning to the living room Sean asks, “Bob, what do you do in your job?”

              Carol interjects, “We’re both also very active in the local PTA program, I also try to help Beth’s teacher as an assistant class mother.”

              Wolf jumps back into the discussion, “Carol, do you have an education degree?”

              “No, my degree is in micro-biology, I thought I was clear on that point on our application.”

              “It’s just why do you think you’re qualified to be an educator or assistant in Beth’s school? Don’t you think education is the most important thing right now in your children’s lives? Don’t you think only educated and qualified people be allowed to teach and interact with your children in school?”

              Bob asks, “Wolf do prospective parents in the LSA have to pass a test before they are allowed to be a parent?”

              “Bob, of course not.”

              “Why not? Isn’t it the same logic as saying only qualified people should interact with our children? I’d say that logic goes further and should be applied to people who want to be parents.”

              “Bob, that is something I understand President Bloomberg is looking into, it hasn’t been started yet. I do see the line of your logic.”

              “It’s not mine; it’s yours.”

              Bob continues, “We think caring and loving our children are very important. We let our kids fail; we let them lose. We feel it’s important for them to learn that life doesn’t always provide you with apple pie. Life isn’t fair. Leon wanted to be a little league baseball pitcher; he just wasn’t good enough as a pitcher, he was told he could make the team in another position, like right field, where most never hit a ball to. However, he couldn’t pitch until he could meet the minimum standards.” 

              Wolf responds with, “Bob, I think that’s dangerous to Leon’s development as a young adult. I think he should have been able to make the team as a pitcher if that’s what he wants. He’ll learn he needs to improve; he’ll push himself to do better.”

              “Wolf, no he won’t. He’ll think he’s good enough even if he can’t get the ball over the plate. Life isn’t fair. Not everyone wins; not everyone gets their dream job; not everyone wins at everything. In fact, I’ve learned more from my failures than I’ve learned from my wins. We don’t give awards for showing up, awards here mean something. It takes hard work to win here. It builds confidence.”

              Wolf shakes his head no, “Bob, sorry, I don’t agree with you. Kids should play games as a game, not a competition to win. It puts too much stress on the kids to win. We want our children to be kids without all of the stress. It helps them learn they can all do anything.”

              Carol says, “Wolf, that’s one of the major differences between us, we believe not all kids can do everything. Not every child is a genius, not every child can grow up to be a super actor or a rock star. Not every child can be a pro-athlete. People are different. We value the differences. It’s our differences that make us stronger.”

              Sean tries to push the discussion forward, “Bob, Carol, we seem to be going all over the place, why don’t you tell us about your jobs?”

              Carol replies, “Sounds like a good idea. Otherwise, we’re going to be going down a rabbit hole we won’t be able to get out of. I work for ‘Bio-Pure’ a two-year-old biomedical start-up working on new ways to clean wounds of any type - from a scrapped knee to gun shots. Our patent pending material cleans and seals wounds in one step, enabling wounds to heal quicker.”

              “Carol, such technology sounds wonderful, since it can aid all of mankind, shouldn’t it be in the public domain to help everyone?”

              “Wolf, no, I don’t think so. We spent two years and eight million dollars developing the technology, why should we just give it away?”

              “Well, maybe not give it away, but shouldn’t it be available to all who need it?”

              “We hope so! We’re hoping the FDA gives us approval to launch human trials in the fall.”

              “Carol, assuming the product works, shouldn’t the FDA just take it over?”

              “Where’s the fairness in that?”

              “The fairness is your product can help everyone and should be available to everyone.”

              “We’re hoping so too, it should sell for less than $15.00 a box of four patches.”

              “So in your view, only those who can afford your product should have access to it.”

              “No, $15.00 is a very low cost for the benefit.”

              “Carol, you’re not getting it. Not everyone can afford $15.00. If the government took over your product, they could make it available to everyone for a much lower cost, it will be included in the covered medical products. Your market would be larger.”

              “Until your government decides to make it in-house and gives our formulas to one of your favorite companies to copy, producing it for less than us because we had the R&D.”

              “Which is why the government should manage the R&D. Don’t you agree?”

              “No, I’ve read reports on the number of new medical products released in the LSA, about a tenth of those released in the USA. You took the incentive out of the formula. Without any incentive why would anyone risk capital or resource?”

              “To improve the human condition.”

              Sean smiles saying, “Wolf, you’re such an idealist. You know that’s not the way the world works. Risk and incentive drive progress. When there’s no profit motive, when there’s no chance of any incentive, there’s no extra effort put in.”

@@@@@

The presidents of Wolf and CNN meet to discuss the program. Randolph, the CEO of Wolf, starts off the discussion. “John, we have over many hours of background video, the ratings for the first two evenings have broken every record. I suggest we announce before tonight’s episode we’re going to expand the program. We haven’t even officially met the Smith’s children yet. We were supposed to meet them in the first episode; however, we ran out time with the interruptions. I think we can easily carry the broadcast into next week.” 

“Randolph, I agree we can easily expand the program, what do you think about Friday night’s program of having each family interview the other?”

“I think we should continue to go with it, we’ve already announced it on air. We can then go back to the explanations on Monday.”

“Do you still want to air the on air town meeting on Saturday?”

“No, I think we should end the program with the town hall meeting as we planned. It’ll be a nice wrap up.”

“I agree, we can make a joint announcement this evening before the program kicks off.”

Both presidents issue a joint press release that they are going to make a major announcement before Thursday’s program.

Rumors spread across both countries; the web is wild with all kinds of wild suggestions, and everything from the program is being canceled to its being remodeled into an ongoing reality show. Lies and anger flood every forum and social site.

Social media sites have over one hundred new sites pop up with support for either the Joneses or Smiths. Many want to see more of the kids. Leon and Scott discover they have over fifty fan sites spread over various sites. Beth is leading the “race” with seventy-five different sites devoted to her. Even Holly has five sites dedicated to her. Little girls all over the world want a dog just like Holly. Pet stores quickly run out of Shar-Pei dogs. Out of nowhere, wrinkles are in. FB runs contests for the most-wrinkled dog. Newspapers run photos of people, dogs, anyone with wrinkles.

Wolf is concerned that Beth’s cuteness is swaying the show. No matter what’s said, she’s so cute she’ll win the hearts of all of the viewers. He decides he has to risk a major move to make the Smith family look better and win hearts. Sharon didn’t even allow her kids to speak while Carol used Beth to win over the viewers. He never even considered using a dog; he figures Sean pulled that one out of his ass. Who the hell ever heard of a six-year old owning a Shar-Pei? He knew that somehow Sean got an advance notice of who the family was and set things up; there couldn’t be anything else to explain it. The CEO at CNN had made it very clear to Wolf his major task was to make sure the audience loved the Smiths. His task was to ensure the LSA came out ahead in the program. President Bloomberg hoped the good showing of the LSA would encourage others to move to the LSA. He also counted on the still left-leaning press in the USA to show the LSA in the best light. He hoped the sacrifices his people made would reflect the better lifestyle they had.

At the stroke of 8:00 PM on Thursday two, hundred fifty-seven million televisions are tuned into the third episode.

            
 
Chapter 9

The first two nights broke every viewing record for a broadcast program. Advertisers tried to outbid the existing advertisers to be associated with the program. CNN broke their existing contracts to increase their revenue; the highest bids reached $4 million for a 30 second advertising spot. Wolf refused to accept new bids saying they had existing contracts in place. Wolf News Channel issued a press release stating they had signed contracts, and they were honoring the contracts. They thanked their advertisers for their faith and support. All had signed up for the program sight unseen. The Wolf News Channel Board of Directors was upset over the station’s refusal to take the higher advertising offers. Randolph stands at the head of the Board Room saying, “Let CNN and others break their contracts, let them upset their supporters, we signed contracts, we’ve built this network on having truthful and balanced reporting that is why we came up with this program. We needed a progressive partner in order to get the LSA’s approval. I won’t break my word for a handful of additional dollars. We’re going to be in a stronger place when the program is over. We have advertisers lined up downstairs wanting to sponsor our next special program. I’m being told, just name our price. They haven’t even asked what the program will be. By honoring our agreements, we’ll come out much stronger than any other broadcaster. We’ve reached an agreement with CNN to expand the program for most of next week. If the ratings hold at 50% of their current numbers, we’ll have won the YEAR in two weeks. Our existing advertisers have gotten a huge windfall, don’t think they don’t know it, and they’ll remember us. I signed a contract; I stand behind my word. We’ll be sitting pretty for next year. We’ve won the night every night the program has been broadcasted. If this continues, we’ll be the number one station.”

A board member asks, “What about increasing the rates for next week’s program? We could make hundreds of millions in extra revenue.”

“Mathew, I offered the existing partners the right of first refusal for next week. I did increase the rates 20%. Every partner agreed within seconds. We’re sold out for next week. We have a waiting list of companies who want to advertise if any of the current partner’s back out. Given the initial ratings I don’t expect any to back out. I do expect the current partners to remember who supported them, I think we’ve built a new core group of advertisers.”

“Randolph, you’re the CEO, our job as your Board is to advise and represent the shareholders. As such, we think you made a mistake in not increasing the rates more than 20%.”

“Mathew, the 20% increase provides us with our highest fees for a 30 second spot; we’re getting over $3M per spot. I’ve heard your comments, let’s wait to see how next week’s ratings are. We could end up being the most trusted news channel in the country.”

@@@@@

              President Brownie and Brownstone are holding a private call to discuss the potential of the program expanding. President Brownstone opens the discussion, “Mr. President, I assume you’ve heard that the networks want to extend the program for another week, are you supportive of their decision?”

              “President Brownstone, I am, I think they are doing a good job of showing the two families. I’m pleased with the quality and honesty of the program so far. If you will have me, I’d like to join you at the broadcast center for a couple of days next week.”

              “It’ll be an honor.”

              “Which broadcast location are you using?”

              “We alternate between the CNN and Wolf and their broadcast trucks. At first there was discussion about building a new studio for the broadcast, but neither of the two CEO’s could agree on a ‘central location’ so we alternate. It’s a pain to move every day; my security team doesn’t like it at all.”

              “I’m sure mine will be upset too. How about I meet you for dinner on Sunday evening?”

              “That will work for me, say 7:00 PM?”

              “Works for me, I’ll have my security team contact yours for assistance.”

              “You can stay at my place if you’d like; I have a security team on site.”

              “Yes, I’ve heard about your on site security team, I think the team’s leader may have visited the LSA once or twice, plus I understand he’s a world traveler.”

              Laughing, President Brownstone replies, “I never ask where they went or where they go on their vacations.”

              President Brownie laughs responding, “I understand, I wouldn’t ask either, some things are better left unknown. Are they going to have any issue with me staying at your home?”

              “I’ll talk with them. I still have the rooms the Secret Service built for their agents; your security detail can stay there.”

@@@@@

              Thursday evening at 8:00 PM finds 257 million people fixated in front of their televisions and computers, everyone is curious what tonight’s program will cover. Everyone is waiting for the program to begin. The program begins with the two broadcast channel’s CEO’s standing in front of the cameras. The screen behind them shows the great divide. The wall is like the one built in ancient China that separates two nations. A thousand years ago China built a wall to keep the ‘hordes out.' The official stated length of the Great Wall is 8851.8 kilometers (5500 miles). The LSA spent ten years using 100,000 people building a series of walls that measured 4,500 kilometers (2,790 miles) on the west coast and 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) to separate the LSA from the USA on the east coast. The divide can be seen from space. It looked like a scar that was cut into North America. The great divide enabled the LSA to seal their borders from outside influences; RF and broadcast signals are jammed so the LSA central government could control the message and put their ‘Great Plan’ into action. Twelve years later the results of the LSA master plan is being shown around the world.

The two CEO’s announce the open town hall meeting will be the closing program and the live interview between the two families will be the next to the last program. They say they hope the viewing public enjoys the upcoming programs.

              The CEO’s announce that the program has had so much interest it is going to continue into the following week. The audience watching is overjoyed with the announcement. Social media sites are filled with the news before the executives even complete the announcement. The senior executives at the other broadcasters are depressed over the announcement; they realize their ratings and earnings for the quarter, and maybe the entire broadcast year, are finished. They were caught by surprise; they have nothing to respond with. The President of ABX suggests filing a lawsuit against Wolf and CNN for becoming a monopoly. The other two executives agree this course of action might have merit, they each assign a group of their legal teams to review and if possible file a federal suit in both countries to stop the destruction of their networks.