Especially Mine

Advice should always be consumed between two thick slices of doubt.
—  Walt Schmidt
.
On This Day In:
2018	And Some Never Do
2017	When We Know We Are Loved
2016	Good Acts
2015	Will You Be Leaving Soon?
2014	Just Long Enough
2013	R.I.P. – Tom Laughlin
	Seeking Success?
2012	All Aboard
2011	Sail On, Sailor

Something Very Different

By the late summer of 2018, it was already clear that the US and the world order it had helped establish during my lifetime were facing deep-seated political, economic, and cultural challenges.
Nonetheless, I drew reassurance from my mother’s reminder that the US had endured a brutal civil war, two world wars, a great depression, and still emerged as the leader of the “free world”, a model for democracy, open markets, free trade, and economic growth.  That was, for me, a source of both pride and hope.
Today, threats facing that model have grown more ominous, and our ability to withstand them feels less certain.  Increasingly, by design or not, there appears to be a movement to undermine Americans’ faith in our government and its policies and institutions.  We’ve moved well beyond former president Ronald Reagan’s credo that “government is the problem”, with its aim of reversing decades of federal expansion.
Today we see something very different and far more sinister.  Nihilistic forces are dismantling policies to protect our air, water, and climate.  And they seek to discredit the pillars of our democracy: voting rights and fair elections, the rule of law, the free press, the separation of powers, the belief in science, and the concept of truth itself.
Without them, the American example that my mother so cherished will revert to the kind of tyranny that once seemed to be on its way to extinction  —  though, sadly, it remains ensconced in some less fortunate parts of the world.
…
Seventy-five years ago, Americans rose to the challenge of vanquishing tyranny overseas.  We joined with our allies, keenly recognizing the need to defend and sustain our hard-won democratic freedoms.  Today’s generation faces a different, but equally existential, test.  How we respond will determine the future of our own democracy and, ultimately, of the planet itself.
There is a need to “keep at it”.  It cannot be set aside.
—  Paul Volcker
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System from 1979 to 1987
This quote was taken from an “opinion” piece published in the Financial Times (ft.com).  It is taken from an afterward in Mr. Volcker’s upcoming publication of the paperback edition of his autobiography.
The full version can be found in the FT hard-copy edition (at your local library) and online at:   https://www.ft.com/content/2389d7ec-1b3c-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4
Note: The “bold and italic” emphasis in the quote above is mine and did not appear in the additional piece.  These two lines appear in multiple articles online describing Mr. Volcker’s comments and are what prompted me to seek out and read the full original opinion.  There is more in the piece worth reading and I encourage all readers of this post to visit the FT site and read the original.  —  KMAB]
.
On This Day In:
2018	For Most Of Us
2017	Stories We Need On Life’s Edge
2016	Heart Trouble
2015	From The Inside Out
2014	Alone And Free
2013	Superstition Is Your Way
2012	Escape Hatches
2011	Sing Like No One Is Listening

Pushing The Envelope

Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.
—  Gail Sheehy
.
On This Day In:
2018	The Price Of Justice Is (Sometimes) Security
2017	Time Too
2016	The Cornerstone Pays
2015	Would That This Be True
2014	More Likely
2013	Enjoyed The Desolation
	Watching Faux News
2012	Speaking Of Products
2011	Ready To Be Immortal?

At Least Mostly On Purpose

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
—  Robert Byrne
.
On This Day In:
2018	Only One You In All Time
2017	Have You Hugged A Tree Lately?
2016	Unconquerable Imagination
2015	Just Plain Wrong
2014	Finding Beliefs
2013	Pretty Confident
2012	Effective Ranges
2011	Three Wisdoms
2010	I’m Just Askin’…
	Space & Time

Ooops (Again)

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
―  George Bernard Shaw
.
On This Day In:
2018	Two Start Up Front
2017	I Love America Because…
	An Act Of God
	And So It Came To Pass (Act Of God part 2)
2016	As Far From
2015	Rocky 7
	Just Like Politics
2014	Game And Legend
	“Scientific” Pride In Humanity
2013	Real Honor
	Catching Up
2012	Thoughts And Communications
2011	But How Does Peter Feel?
2010	Name That Regret

Stand Up, Hook Up, Shuffle To The Door…

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society.  The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.
―  George Bernard Shaw
.
On This Day In:
2018	Ridiculous Idea
2017	Waddle On!
	A Severe Challenge — When The President Is A Liar
2016	The Best Of Circumstances
2015	Reverberating Silence
2014	Wrong Again?
2013	Improper Faith
2012	One More Rung
2011	Sunday Morning Earlies (Hugging trees and smiling…)
	Hurry
	Updates On Life
2010	It’s Gettin’ Deep In Here

Still Working On Both

Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.
―  George Bernard Shaw
.
On This Day In:
2018	Two Jordans To Heaven
	Speaking Of #45
2017	All Greek To Me
2016	Judgment
2015	I Love Bacon, Too
2014	The Wee Bit
2013	Reading Rules
2012	Cadet Prayer
2011	Easy To Tell
2010	A NEW Lion In The Senate (Channeling Mr. Smith)
	Inception Redux
	A Quick Hit Of Stats