As a lifetime political junkie and someone who appreciates the subtleties of small town retail politics, I know the value of a dingy restaurant on a corner facing Main St. Or in the case of the Merrimack Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire, Elm Street.

For every election cycle since the time I was a fetus, the Merrimack has served as a place where presidential hopefuls could easily mingle with regular, hard-working folk in this former mill town. But we junkies of the political realm will have to find a new place to warm our hands and noses. Over the weekend the Merrimack, with their delightful if not sharp-tongued staff serving up endless cups of hot coffee with a dose of dish, opened their doors for the last time.

I feel honored to have had the privilege of getting "The Full Merrimack" this past January, and I will miss it when I'm there for the next go around in 8 years.

Thanks Jane for the extra cream in my cup. You were enough sugar for me.

Labels: Justin Schuck, Manchester, Merrimack Diner, New Hampshire

Design is on the horizon at JS+Co. We're in the process of major overhauls of all the branded sites, including some of our newest ventures. JustinSchuck.com, the site for Justin Schuck Photography, has been in a state of constant redevelopment for over two years. We are pleased to announce that we've assigned our newest (and hopefully final) designer, Andrea K, to the task.



This means of course that we'll have to scale back our timetable for deployment, however, we know it will be worth the wait. Soon you will notice a new placeholder graphic (see above). We will be eliminating the "vintage" portion of the site to create and allow for server-side testing of the new site. During this time we will not have online galleries, but we will have a downloadable PDF packet containing a number of our images in album form. Clients will also be directed to call or email the studio to learn more.



As mentioned above, we have retooled JustinSchuckCo.com, the main site of the company to reflect the new address and the new members of the JSCo family. Soon there will be even more consolidation.

Justin Schuck Design Studio is now JSDS print/web/publication. The functions of Schuck Interactive Group and its partners will be folded into JSDS. Innovative Brand Concepts will soon be merged into the newest marketing arm That's Sick Viral Marketing. That's Sick is currently engaged with the largest cable channel to provide innovative marketing campaigns through social media using viral web techniques. We are also working with one of the hippest record companies in America to spread the word about their newest talent. More to come on that. (L'Agence and HelveticaSaves.org were merged earlier this year into the Innovative Brand Concepts division.)



There are exciting changes ahead with a focus on our clients. This is going to be an exciting year. Just you wait.

Labels: design, JSDS

Dear President Bush,

By my calendar you have about 7 months, give or take a little, before the end of your term, but I wanted to let you know that it's not too late for you to take back your presidency from your handlers.

I know you know that things haven't been going well. The American people aren't your biggest fans right now, but you can change that. It's really simple actually. Well nothing is ever simple in politics or government, but I have a few ideas I think might be good.

First thing you'll want to do is call a prime time press conference. Have your people put the feelers out that this is going to be a big conference that the world won't want to miss. I'm sure someone will have all the right signage and imagery up on the stage behind you to help convey your importance and your patriotism. In this first press conference you should make a series of announcements, but don't tell anyone what they are until you're ready to give the speech. Oh, and don't read from the prompter. Try and memorize most of it and read from your hand-written notes that you'll pull out of your pocket after the cameras are streaming live.

So if I were you, I'd announce the following:

1. You would like to apologize to the American people and the world for the bungling of intelligence leading up to the Iraq War. Use your own language, but make it sincere.
   
2. You want to apologize for dropping the ball in Afghanistan but you pledge to renew your focus on this vital part in the "battle against maniacal guerrilla forces" -- not the "war on terror."
   
3. You want to apologize for the perception that you stole the 2000 election. You didn't, but it still doesn't sit well with a lot of Americans.
   
4. You are going to start and all-out, non-stop-until-inauguration day 2009 diplomatic offensive, both abroad and at home.
5. You are going to spend one weekend, if not more, a month in New Orleans getting your hands dirty building homes, talking to fellow citizens and learning how we can prevent people from suffering like this ever again in America.
6. You're going to tell people of New Orleans that they shouldn't rebuild in the lowest wards and parishes. It won't be popular down there, but it needs to be said.
7. You're going to stop blaming the Democratic congress for everything. You'll admit your part in contributing to the vitriolic partisan rancor that has further sullied the already-soiled reputation of Washington. (See #3) And you'll tell the American people that they need to read books by authors of an opposing political ideology.
8. You'll admonish Rush Limbaugh and other conservative hosts for promoting fear to your own advantage and ask that this behavior in radio and television come to an end.
   
9. You'll announce a call for people from all financial brackets in the US to serve their government and their country. You'll ask for more volunteers to join the armed services to help serve the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq to make it easier for them to come home soon. Again, I know that won't be popular, but it needs to be said.
10. You'll also announce that you will have a weekly prime-time press conference to discuss the progress of your final-days initiative.
11. You'll admit that the tax cuts weren't responsible in light of the spiraling costs of the wars and our government's other responsibilities. You'll note that the government desperately needs money to not only pay for the wars, but for infrastructure improvement, and to pay down our debt to foreign nations, especially China. You'll propose to veto every single bill that is laden with earmarks and pork projects.
12. You'll admit that you're disappointed that no compromise could be reached on serious reform of Social Security and Medicare and that if the next administration and congress won't tackle the problem, they don't deserve a salary or benefits for the office which they hold
    
13. You'll have to apologize for your nonconservative, unrepublican, unrestricted spending and expansion of government, even though you acknowledge the need for a Department of Homeland Security.
14. You'll tell republicans especially to grow up and face the reality that illegal immigrants aren't going anywhere and that we need to find a swift pathway to citizenship to bring them out of their de facto slavery. You'll note that we need more than a southern-border wall; we need to work harder to promote economic opportunities in Central and South America to allows those nations' citizens to find meaningful and financially viable work in their home country.We are the land of opportunity for many, but we are the land of fear and poverty for so many as well.
    
15. You'll stop using overly-crafted political rhetoric and sound bites, instead focusing on a finite number of things you can change. You'll have to work with democrats, but that's okay. History will be kinder to you because of it.
16. You're going to promise to the American people that anyone in your administration who seeks to derail your proposals will be exposed and humiliated in addition to being fired.
    
17. You'll invite prominent democrats and independents, in addition to Republicans, to take key advisory roles in the new President's Task Force for America's Future.
    
18. You'll denounce the partisan coverage of news channels that use fear and sound bites as a tactic of record rather than promoting independent journalistic principles.
19. You'll acknowledge that these proposals and initiatives must continue on in the new administration, and that my friend will be your lasting legacy.
    

There's a lot more that you'll want to say and need to say, but we'll all just have to wait until next week. It would be the most gripping bit of news and could do wonders for the Republican party in the fall. The only way any republican can win is to run against you, but the only way you can have a legacy is to run in a new direction. It isn't too late. I promise.

You might think Americans won't listen to you, but you're wrong. We're waiting to be asked. We're waiting to be asked to fully share in the responsibility of America's future. We're waiting to be asked to vote to make change happen.

I know you let the usual cronies get carried away, but it's high time you took back your presidency and became the president you always could be and should have been.

I'm available at your request at any point that you seek my counsel.

Sincerely Yours,
Justin Schuck

Labels: Bush Administration, George W. Bush, Iraq, Republican Party, U.S. Military, War

The only real way we can support our troops is to have the ability to pay their salaries and benefits with American Money. It is far past the time when running up foreign debt to pay for our wars and the sacrifices of soldiers if the burden isn't shared by all.

Unlike no other war in the history of the world, we are asked to shoulder the burden not with responsibility or care, but on the backs of low-income Americans often from low economic hope areas. We place yellow ribbons around trees. We put magnets on our SUVs. We bedazzle our license plates with ghosts of our sacred flag. "United we stand" is emblazoned on everything from coffee cups to baby bibs. But what does that mean? Do these hollow phrases ask us all to share the sacrifice? Does it ask us to drive less to leave more petrol for our military? Does it ask us to buy used cars or to recycle more to free up industry to convert to war-supporting operations? No. "United we stand" has gone from the lofty rhetoric of a nation healing from the wounds of the attacks of September 11th to the Republican rallying cry. They defame the definition of "united" to make us more divided.

Nowhere has anyone asked us to make sacrifices in our daily lives for our freedom. It's time this burden is shared. If our leaders see fit that our security as a nation is compromised and requires a military solution, our leaders owe us the respect of asking for our shared sacrifice.

The idea of shared sacrifice is practiced often in humanitarian crisis at home and abroad. When earthquakes level hundreds of square miles we give; when tsunamis devastate whole continents we give; when hurricanes and floods destroy lives, communities and cities we give; when terrorists murder thousands we give. But when our country is fighting wars on multiple fronts we give nothing.

I don't wear a flag pin on my lapel; I wear one on my heart. I try to remember the tremendous sacrifice Americans are making at the direction of our president. We do have one of the finest fighting forces in the world today, but this administration's stubborn naiveté in it's nonacademic prosecution of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq show the vulnerability of a nation ruled by sound bites and slogans.

We again need a leader who can talk outside of an outline and stand in his (or her) own shoes to direct a thoughtful U.S. foreign policy towards a respectful engagement of the international community.

Labels: Afghanistan, Bush Administration, Editorial, Flag, flag pin, Iraq, Justin Schuck, September 11th, U.S. Military, United We Stand, War