Profiles in Courage

Where is Courage? Commander Chief of Staff  Migrant Mother        Afraid of: Others Reporters Competition Criticism Being ignored Medal festooned General afraid of: The Commander  (See left) Afraid of: Violence at Home Abject Poverty Childish bragging, petty feuds, and incoherent strategies “Honor, this is the bedrock of our character” But has the courage […]

Read More

We Win You Lose

America First – good for the bully maybe not the citizens.   Hello Congress!!   America First (or we win you lose): NAFTA, Eurozone, TPP, G7, UN Human Rights Council: all multilateral groups.  The commander doesn’t like them because It is easier to sqeeze one on one –  otherwise they tend to gang up. USA, with less […]

Read More

Game Over

The NFL is the largest spectator sporting league in the world but how much longer can this entertainment anachronism survive? 5 more years? Viewership has declined for the past two years. Follow the money. High school football participation is down according to National Federation of State High School Associations. As we learn more about CTE, a sport that […]

Read More

Maybe it Works?

  Could the commander’s basal instincts make the world better? Iran? China? North Korea As David Brooks mentions in NYT, the commander: “…understands the thug mind a whole lot better than the people who attended our prestigious Foreign Service academies.” Maybe thug on thug negotiations will work and the commander’s feral cunning is needed at […]

Read More

The Coy Commander

  The commander is being coy according to the New York Times in a recent article about reneging on the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA). coy /koi/ adjective: reluctant to give details, especially about something regarded as sensitive. “he is coy about his size” Why be coy? Could it be that there is no plan for after […]

Read More

Borrow and Pay

  When to Borrow? When to Pay Off? US Government Debt: Treasury Bills, notes and bonds are fixed income, considered safe investments with relatively low interest rates. The current National Debt of $15.5 trillion equates to a  debt-to-GDP ratio around 81 percent based on the most recent second quarter GDP of $19,2 trillion. According to the […]

Read More

Lethality

  Who are we? According to our Defense Secretary (he’s the thoughtful one): “Everything we do must contribute to the lethality of our military” National Defense Strategy Document: “Inter-state strategic competition, not terrorism, is now the primary concern in U.S. national security”.  China is the primary adversary and although Russia is more forceful it is […]

Read More

EPA Science Debate?

    Intuitively survival requires us to protect the planet – clean air, clean water, not breathing a lot of Particulate Matter (PM). PM2.5 etc. Why are we hearing from a member of the EPA transition team (formerly a shill for tobacco and oil) that air pollution isn’t bad for your health? Along with the Kochish […]

Read More

Are we in the way?

    Innocent or obese civilians can frustrate an agenda. Not if the commander has anything to say. Bombs Away: On March 20, 2018 the Senate narrowly voted to defeat a resolution to block sales of laser guided bomb systems to Saudi Arabia presented by Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chris Murphy (D-CT). The CEO of Raytheon […]

Read More

Can We Try Diplomacy?

   New leadership is coming to the enfeebled State Department. Unfortunately, it is coming from the militaristic, Death by China school of diplomacy. Diplomacy requires work, to understand what we need, what they want and then to find a compromise that benefits everyone. Here are a few items that require attention regarding our trade relationship […]

Read More