The state of Washington has a significant percentage of citizens with Chinese or Korean ancestry. When he was Secretary of State, Sam Reed hoped to reach out to them in their own language. His messages to taxpayers were translated into Chinese and Korean on the state's website. Unfortunately, the translations didn't communicate as Reed intended.

When Reed wrote about "statewide mandates to restore public trust," the version posted in Chinese read: "Swampy weed suggests whole state order recover open trust."

The mistake was blamed on the software used to turn Reed's words into Chinese characters. The Secretary of State's office pulled the translations, saying, "If it's totally confusing, it's worthless."

Our sincere efforts to communicate the good news will flounder without a genuine understanding of those we are trying to reach.