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Hockey team did it right

If men’s basketball is the most popular and professional athlete-filled team sport at the quadrennial Summer Olympic Games, then men’s ice hockey is its Winter Olympic Games analogue. Every four years, the two-week Summer and Winter Olympics provide a respite, for NBA and NHL fans, from the annual domestic calendar. Stars who might normally be teammates instead pick up the jerseys of rival nations, competing against one another for love of home and hearth on the world’s grandest sporting stage. Each Olympic sport has had its iconic American triumphs too: Who can forget the 1992 ...

State of the Union showcased frail Congress

The president wasted no time getting to his lies. It started in the first minute, when he claimed that: “When I spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home and wars and chaos all over the world.” None of that is truthful. Economic growth was actually a bit better during Joe Biden’s final year in office (2.8%) than in Trump’s first year (2.2%). In March of last year, inflation was not at “record ...

Media vs. America?

Alysa Liu is an American figure skater whose family fled China and faced harassment and persecution by Chinese authorities. She won gold. You might have missed it. The American press corps chose, instead, to praise Eileen Gu, an American skier with family ties to the Chinese communist party. Gu skied for and was paid by China. The press elevated her over American athletes until shifting to hating our hockey team. “Eileen Gu won three medals — one gold and two silver — in Milan and now has six total medals over the span of two quadrennials. She also made herself one of the most ...

Too many meetings? Make them better

It seems the feeling that there are too many meetings comes up frequently in conversations these days. Time is precious. No one wants to sit in meetings that don’t add value. On the other hand, well-run meetings have a positive impact in many areas.  This column offers tips on how to make the most of your meetings. It is not inclusive; there are many good tools on this topic that are easy to locate. However, these are some of the most helpful practices I’ve discovered over the years. The starting point with any project is to diagnose the situation. When it comes to meeting ...

Confusing policy

This had the potential to be a foreign policy for the ages, but it now appears that Donald Trump has created one that only confuses. If he has a solution to the problems besetting the world, Trump has yet to articulate one, except to coerce, blockade, and threaten. From Iran to Ukraine, Cuba, and Venezuela, the Trump Doctrine resembles more a performative policy linked to a floating craps game. Although he points to some successes, Venezuela and Gaza, to name two, are all wrapped in caveats. The Maduro regime still exists in the form of Delcy Rodríguez, and Israel still has designs on ...

ArtsBank offers fun February end

The ArtsBank Auction offers our community an event that is an entertaining way to finish out this cold winter month.  The doors at Orchard Hall will open at 6:30 this evening and excellent hors d’oeuvres will be ready for guests to enjoy. Music will accompany a time for mingling with friends and looking at the art offerings. The grand auction will begin at 8 p.m. ArtsBank has paid local artists to teach art lessons in Randolph County Public Schools for thirty years. These working artists go into classrooms for six weeks to teach elementary students how to paint or do other ...