I Am Spartacus

[The following is an opinion editorial appearing in the Washington Post on 16 August 2018.  —  KMAB]
Revoke my security clearance, too, Mr. President
Dear Mr. President:
Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known.  Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John.  He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.
Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.
Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.
A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization.  A good leader sets the example for others to follow.  A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.
Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities.  Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.
If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken.  The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be.
William H. McRaven
Retired Navy Admiral
McRaven was commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014.
He oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
[Between 1974 and 1978, I served in the U.S. Army and had a Top-Secret clearance granted in relation to my duties.  I certainly no longer have this clearance.  But, if I did…  You could “revoke my security clearance, too, Mr President”!!  —  KMAB
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On This Day In:
2017	Try Not To Run Short, Too
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2015	It Couldn’t Hurt
2014	Sir, I Have Reasoned It Out!
2013	What Are We Becoming?
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And Not Be Just Vain, Greedy And Dumb

He who would rule must hear and be deaf, see and be blind.
—  German Proverb
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On This Day In:
2017	The Soul Of Victory
2016	Getting Furrowed?
2015	Pretty Good So Far
2014	Still Learning?
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2013	Little Lives
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But What Are You DOING About November?

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.
—  Peter Drucker
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On This Day In:
2017	Some Good
2016	Edges
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2015	I Hope Not
2014	Study The Means Of Expressing Yourself
2013	That Stubborn Thing
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Very Nearly

“Chasing Perfection: The Principles Behind Winning Football the De La Salle Way”  (2015©)  —  book review
Today’s book review is for “Chasing Perfection” written by Bob Ladouceur with Neil Hayes.  The book is about coaching American Football at the high school level.  Ladouceur was the head coach of the varsity football team at De La Salle High School here in Concord, California.  His teams are the owners of the all-time longest winning streak in high school history (151 wins between 1992 and 2004).  To put that into some perspective, the next longest streak is 109 games!
There are lots of different types of sports books.  There are coach and player biographies.  There are league and team histories.  There are greatest games, greatest championships and greatest dynasties.  My favorites are those which discuss – in depth – schemes and techniques (in any sport).  I enjoy them because you get a chance to learn the why’s and how’s of the game which then allows you to see and understand why something is working as it is happening on the field (or court).  As such a book, this is perhaps the best book I have ever read about football – specifically, football techniques.
This is not really an “X’s” and “O’s” play diagram type of book.  It IS a “we want the tackle to have his inside foot here, his outside foot there, four to six inches back and heel no more than one inch off the ground, with this much weight on one hand” book.  That, literally, is the detail provided in the explanations in this book.  And, I love it!!
I haven’t been this excited about reading a football book — WHILE reading the football book — since I was in high school and just learning how to play.  Back then, I read a book on defensive football written by Dick Butkus and another book with chapters on various players and I was completely enthralled by Raymond Berry at wide receiver.  Berry is NFL Films #36 greatest players of all time and Butkus is, well, Butkus.  I learned more from that book and that chapter than I have from a host of other books I’ve read about the sport of football – at every level.  And this book is as good as if not better than both of those.
Every part of organizing and building a team is covered: offense, defense, special teams, nutrition, weight training, scouting opponents, game planning.  You name it.  It’s here.  Now, realistically, is it encyclopedic?  No.  But, then it’s less than 300 pages.  If you want a book with “X’s” and “O’s”, this isn’t the book.  But you can find dozens of those which still won’t add up to what you’ll learn from the reading (and re-reading) of this book.
Final recommendation: VERY highly recommended.  Not only did this book explain things I didn’t know about, it also explained the reasons why some things I used to do instinctively actually worked.  This book is so good, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to coach any sport at any level.  It is that good…
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One Person Can

“I’m plugging away, not fading away,” Hirono says.
If Trump’s presidency has renewed her sense of purpose, it has not instill a love for political combat.  “I never refer to what I do as my career.  What kind of career is it that you have to run for office every two years and go out there and ask total strangers to support you?” she asks.  “It’s what I do.  It’s my service.”
So why not retire?
“One person can make a difference,” Hirono says.  “My mom changed my life by bringing me to this country.”  Plus, she says, the President needs a counterbalance.  “The battles that we win,” she says, “never stay won.”
Senator Mazie Hirono
As quoted by Philip Elliott in his article: “Hawaii’s Mazie Hirono is the Senate’s only immigrant and a thorn in the President’s side“
Appearing in: Time Magazine
28 May 2018
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On This Day In:
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2016	Diligent Students
2015	Unanswered Prayers
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2013	As I…
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Is Your Sky Falling?

Changes that appear turbulent to organizations that rely heavily on planning may appear normal to, even welcomed by, those who prefer a more visionary or learning approach. Put more boldly, if you have no vision but only formal plans, then every unpredicted change in the environment makes you feel like the sky is falling.
—  Henry Mintzberg
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2017	Unseen Here, Too
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You Have Just Begun To Climb

Kiril Lakota:  [the shadow of the cross is on the Pope’s empty chair during this exchange of dialog]  Leone, how does a man ever know if his actions are for himself or for God?
Cardinal Leone:  You don’t know.  You have a duty to act.  But you have no right to expect approval, or even a successful outcome.
Kiril Lakota:  So, in the end, my friend, we are alone?
Cardinal Leone:  Yes.  I have seen three men sit in this room.  You are the last I shall see.  Each of them, in his turn, came to where you stand now, the moment of solitude.  I have to tell you there is no remedy for it.  You are here until the day you die.  And the longer you live, the lonelier you will become.  You will use this man and that for the work of the church.  But when the work is done, or the man has proved unequal to it, you will let him go and find another.  You want love.  You need it, as I do.  Even though I am old.  You may have it for a little while, but you will lose it again.  Like it or not, you are condemned to a solitary pilgrimage, from the day of your election until the day of your death.  This is a Calvary, Holiness.  And you have just begun to climb.
—  Morris West
The above conversation is from the movie adaptation of his novel: “In The Shoes Of The Fishermen“
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2015	Or You Don’t
2014	If You Ever Fall…
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