The United States is an odd country: unlike virtually every other on the planet; the US is not a derivative of geography, but rather a philosophic creation, a nation in pursuit of ideas, ideas of individual rights and justice and a representative government that serves the people. And that is all threatened. I had a […]

A few weeks ago, while discussing school violence, a really smart friend of mine made the observation that: “kids with spiritual cores aren’t the ones committing the school shootings.” Which led to some digging. So, first, some numbers. The first recorded school shooting was in 1764. Since then there’ve been quite a few, but definitions […]

In Memory of… Memorial Day is a day dedicated to the remembrance of those who died for our country. Rightly, we spend (or we should) some time thinking about those we know, or know of, who did just that: went off to war in the service of our nation and were killed in that service. […]

We’ve been living in the age of Neville Chamberlain. You remember Chamberlain, the fellow who (in 1938) negotiated away Czechoslovakia’s freedom so as to not upset Hitler. Let me explain. In a recent comedy-drama there’s a scene where one character tells the bad guy – with whom he is negotiating – what his first “bid” […]

The US is only now waking to the threat posed by those who’d use the cyber world to not only steal information (and money), but corrupt data, undermine our politics, and even cripple key industries and infrastructure. Developing cyber capabilities to defend against those nations, groups and individuals who would attack us is essential. Equally […]

So, your people walk in and lay a dossier on your desk; there’s a map, some pictures, a report from several spies, and a debrief from Prisoner X. The debrief is what started it all: he fingered a terrorist who’s plotting an attack on a US city, a large bomb, maybe a radioactive or “dirty” […]

Michael Caputo is a media strategist who worked for the Trump campaign. He was in the news last week commenting on the ongoing investigation by Robert Mueller and how it dramatically damaged his life: even though he was just called as a witness, the cost of dealing with the various legal issues has essentially bankrupted […]

Here’s an experiment: write down everything you’ll need for the next year. Everything: the simple stuff like how many boxes of oatmeal or toilet-paper rolls, and the hard stuff: how many new cell phones you’ll need because one broke or one was lost. How many times will the plumber need to come out to the […]

Last week President Trump imposed tariffs on, among other things, Chinese steel and aluminum, as well as placing restrictions on various investments by China in US markets. Commentary mainly seems to have come down in opposition to the move, noting the US has a $375 billion trade deficit with China; that many of our consumer […]

“…worn out with labor and sinking under the burdens of anxieties, (he) could not sustain his spirits, which shook within him with the apprehension of a new war and fresh encounters and dangers, the formidable character of which he knew by his own experience… he fell into despondency, nocturnal frights, and unquiet sleep… Above all […]