Search Results for: So, Where to Now, America

The Movement for Racial Justice is at a Crossroads – Which Model Will It Chose?

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This is a Singular Moment – Two Earlier Movements Offer Encouragement and Risk

 

We Have Been Here Before – or Have We?

As Condoleezza Rice recently noted,

“In the wake of Floyd’s death, Americans and people around the world are experiencing shock, grief, outrage — a set of emotions that too often are repeated. If the past is a guide, these feelings will fade, and we will return to our lives. But something tells me — not this time. Floyd’s horrific death should be enough to finally move us to positive action.”

Maybe.

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This is a Blog Post I Never Thought I Would Have to Make

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And I Hate Doing It

 

What It Means to Be an American Military Officer

I spent much of my adult life in the US Army. It is an institution I love and respect, and by extension, I feel the same about all the armed services and the civilians that support them. One of the things that has always been most meaningful to me is that every member of every armed force, no matter their rank, takes the same oath of allegiance. It is to the constitution. Not to the government, certainly not to the president,

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The Problem with Policing Is Even Worse Than You Think

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If We Cannot Make Progress on This, Much Else Will Never Get Right

 

 

Here We Are

Once again, we sit in front of our TVs and watch our nation burn. We have been here before, and surely will again. This time has some important differences, as well as some timeless evil.

That there are racial disparities in the dispensing of law enforcement and justice should not be a surprise to anyone by now. Although some resisted the terminology and the messaging, the Black Lives Matter movement has done much to educate the rest of us in preparation for this moment.

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A To Do List for January 21st – Part II

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A Wish List for the Day After the Inauguration

Where are We?

I hope you had a pleasant Memorial Day, and that you reflected on what that day means. A lot of what we talk about rests on that foundation of dedication and sacrifice.

Last week I shared with you five of my top ten goals for the Biden administration to pursue. Most of the big items are likely to get done in the first 12-18 months, and not many thereafter. Because of that political reality, setting priorities and timing is essential.

Keep in mind what order all these come in depends on how the election turns out all the way down the ticket.

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Let’s Share a Few Laughs

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Because These Days, If You Can’t Laugh, You Might Cry Instead

The Sword Disguised as Pen

The art of the political or editorial cartoon is a fine and long-standing tradition. It has been a mainstay of American politics since our founding days. This art form actually predates this country by a long time. It seems that the ability to make fun of the high and mighty is a cherished tradition going back centuries.

We have been dealing with some pretty grim circumstances of late. And that was before the pandemic! Today, we will take a break and enjoy some of the better cartoons I have seen in recent weeks.

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Is it Me or is it We? Is it Freedom or is it Community? All of the Above?

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America is Having an Internal Search. Who are we? What Do We Value?

America Looks for Itself, in Itself

As the pandemic rolls through America, interesting characteristics are arising. They are arising for individuals and collectively. We find ourselves highlighting sometimes very different aspects of our values. Some are just different; some are in conflict.

This is not a new phenomenon. Like a collective Diogenes, we periodically seek to define who we are and what we stand for. But it is more important than ever this time. We must decide what are our national values and priorities going forward.

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Good Reading to Share, Just for You

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We All Have More Time to Read, in This Isolation. I Have Some Goodies to Share

Catching Up on Our Back Reading

Like many of you, I seem to always have a stack of magazines lying about that I am behind in reading. If I could sell al the Atlantics and New Yorkers I have lying about, I could probably make up most of the beating the stock market is inflicting on me just now.

But there is good news. As our splendid isolation continues, we get caught up on such things.

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Leadership Right Under Our Noses, Just When We Need It

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Often Lost in Media Coverage in Normal Times, Governors Actually Run Things

Consider Governors

Several recent presidents have been governors: Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II. Even so, governors often get short shrift in media and in public attention. We tend to gravitate toward Washington personalities. This is an understandable, if oftentimes shortsighted, approach to picking our national leaders.

Washington personalities have the natural advantage of being in a global media capital. At some level, Washington based individuals also often deal in foreign policy and foreign crises. These yield valuable experience for a potential president.

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There is Another Deadly (but Curable) Virus Stalking the Land

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Here is its formula: I+AxIL/NC = -0

As terrible as the Corona virus is, there is another that is ravaging our country. It is bad enough in and of itself, but it actually makes the other virus, indeed all our national problems, worse.

I am referring to the mental and emotional profiles that make up the Trump administration. If this were a biological infection, its component formula might read something like the following:   I+AxIL/NC = -0

The Chemistry of Failure

I: Ignorance. Simple failure to know, to understand, to study a threat or a problem.

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This is the Close-in Fight Against Covid-19

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But It’s Not Too Soon to Capture Lessons Learned While We Fight

The Close-In Fight

Back in my days as a combat arms officer in the Army, we would refer to the “close-in fight.” This was when the fighting got really close and personal. Wherein you often saw the face of the opposing soldiers, knowing that at the end of battle one group would live to fight another day, and one would not.

At that point, not much beyond what was happening right around you mattered. This was when your planning, resourcing, strategy,

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