A couple of things...

Because it is an election year, there are the ubiquitous TV ads that both build up and tear down candidates. The tear-down ads are done with soft money from both sides of the political fence. We still do not know how to run a 'clean' campaign, or we just don't care. It is this type of mud-slinging that makes Americans think the political system is a choice of "the lesser of two evils".

But, my original though here is about financial contributors to candidates.

Where do you draw the line about contributions. In one ad I saw it says that this candidate accepted contributions from employees for a certain company (a power-providing company). So what? If this candidate agrees with, or supports the views of these people, then they should contribute. At what point is a candidate bought? If I say that I am pro-oil, I would expect to get money from oil companies. But which came first (the chicken or the egg)?

Like the poultry reference, this issue could be argued ad infinitum. The only way to really find a smoking gun in this situation is to look at the history of the candidate and see if said candidate changed their opinion on or about the time the contributions were made. Otherwise we are dealing with innuendo and conspiracy theories.

My second point for this post is the company coffee machine.

Why do some people take the last, full cup of coffee and leave a smidgen in the pot? They walk off thinking to themselves that there is coffee left, so they don't need to make another pot. They are too important and too busy to make coffee (or they are too ignorant to know how). This says much about the culture of the company that they are in.

After many years as a consultant in many different companies, I have found that the coffee machine is a reflection of the company's personality. If employees do not take the time to make coffee or clean up after themselves, they are usually selfish and ego-centric and it reflects in other aspects of their work.

On the other hand, I have worked at companies where there is cooperation and caring and an ethic to do the right thing. At these places, everyone makes coffee if they take the last of the pot. The general area is clean and maintained, and not by the janitor crew.

So, how is it at your place of work?