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Value of free speech

On Wednesday evening, I attended the third annual RealClearMedia Samizdat Prize Gala in Palm Beach, Florida. RealClear, whose brands include its flagship RealClearPolitics website, is best known as a content and polling aggregator, and as an advocate of political and ideological diversity. Pursuant to that mission, the Samizdat Prize recognizes and honors leading champions of free speech from across the ideological spectrum. This year, the prize was given to longtime Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, Irish-born comedy writer Graham Linehan and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. ...

GOP Congress looks like Dem majority

“Do you think you’re going to Hell?” This is apparently considered a highly newsworthy question by the Bari Weiss-led “CBS Evening News.” The theological questioner was radical Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), who wants to abolish Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The target was acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. CBS not only aired McIver’s sound bite, but anchor Tony Dokoupil quoted it in his introduction to correspondent Nicole Sganga’s very one-sided story. The Republicans hold majorities in the House and the Senate, but if you watch how hearings are covered by the TV ...

What leaders actually do speaks loudest

Values are caught as well as taught. What a leader does is more often more impactful than what is said.  This message came to mind as I read of an organization’s rolling out a development program for supervisors. I applaud them for doing so. I would encourage them to make sure all the leaders, including the C-suite, complete the program. Why? All people impact others by our actions and words, both in a personal capacity and a professional one. To have middle managers complete a program, and to not have all leaders complete it, can send the wrong message. It is important for ...

Valentine’s Day meaning changing?

When we read about the declining global birth rate, the idea of romantic love comes into question.  Do “love and marriage” really “go together like a horse and carriage now?”   Is the concept of “courtly love” out of date like the antique carriages that we only see in old movies? Now more people are single, or couples live together without being married.  Do young people dream of the same happy ending that was the goal of those beautiful people acting in Hollywood before 1975?  According to an online article titled “Valentine’s Day’s History is deeper than you ...

Fanciful policies

Donald Trump’s foreign policy has usually been considerably more creative than his predecessors. He certainly has shown more flexibility than Joe Biden’s feckless diplomatic approach. His Middle East policy differs from Biden’s in that it places greater emphasis on Arab states. Trump’s initiatives on the Russia-Ukraine war show greater flexibility than Biden’s insistence on greater NATO involvement in negotiations. But recently, Trump has drifted into fanciful, more exotic policies. Annexation of Greenland, the Venezuela gambit, and the use of Tariffs as a weapon have ...

Roastmaster president

Only Donald Trump could turn a prayer breakfast into a celebrity roast. During the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump became an insult comedian, aiming a steady stream of invective. For example, he referred to Republican Congressman Thomas Massie as a “moron”. So an event which was initiated in the 1950’s to show a moment of unity amidst division became a vehicle for a seventy-five-minute rant. Not that Trump was made for a moment of national brotherhood week, but his actions have thrown all political caution to the wind. Admittedly, he has never favored rituals, which he regards ...