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Democrats still haven’t learned any lessons

On Thursday, Senate Democrats voted for the 10th time to prolong the federal government shutdown. They also voted against funding the military, thereby necessitating that the Pentagon initiate some innovative accounting in order to ensure service members are paid on time. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) defended his caucus’s latest vote, opining, “It’s always been unacceptable to Democrats to do the defense bill without other bills that have so many things that are important to the American people in terms of health care, in terms of housing, in terms of safety.” ...

Peace isn’t a deal

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a quick study in the art of laying it on thick, announced that he was teaming up with Israel’s Knesset speaker to invite parliamentary leaders from around the world to jointly nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize — and for nothing less than inaugurating “a new golden age.” Though refraining from that level of MAGA-fication, Democrats have not stinted on the praise due to Trump for achieving the ceasefire and hostage agreement. Former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden ...

Showing up: Presence makes a difference

Leaders underestimate their impact in showing up. Why? I find most leaders do not see themselves as special. They see themselves as being the same as others.  A highlight of my career was working with the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Floyd (Fred) Loop, the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) at the time, hired my company. (Dr. Loop is no longer with us physically; however, his impact lives on.) He referred to the work as “providing world-class care.” Dr. Loop was a private person. For the kickoff of the engagement session, a daylong event that included presentations from me ...

Tutors needed to help students learn

As we start our Targeted Tutoring program for another year I am becoming more aware of the fact that the original concept of tutoring is the central purpose of Kump Education Center. The word “tutor” comes from a Latin root word that means guardian or protector. If we do our tutelary work well, we will make safe relationships with students enabling them to feel secure enough to learn. Children can overcome their weaknesses if they learn coping devices to make them better students. With private tutoring students do not have to hide their weaknesses from the rest of the class. Good ...

Back in time

As I peruse the numerous news networks, it feels as if October 1973 has miraculously reappeared. The President of the United States is trying to end a Middle East conflict, but must deal with the repercussions of an “enemies’ list.” Despite having a reasonably stable economy, the President manages to provoke a domestic and foreign policy crisis. No, that president is not Donald Trump. It is Richard Nixon. But the parallel problems are similar, though not exactly the same. Karl Marx once quipped, comparing Napoleon the Third with his uncle’s enterprise to seize power in France, ...

Regional instability

Donald Trump‘s quest to see a peace deal for Gaza seemingly met with success with a ceasefire agreement. But the joy may be premature, given that Benjamin Netanyahu is to run the agreement past his cabinet. As well, the terms of the understanding are to be implemented in stages. It is a framework, but the actions of all the participants must be tightly aligned. Surely, gaining some understanding is a significant accomplishment given the pitfalls of diplomacy. Trump placed a great deal of pressure on Netanyahu, which in turn strained their relations. But this strong-arming did not ...