Whether it is four more years of Trump, or a Biden landslide, we will all still be Americans when we wake up tomorrow.* We are on the same team. We always have been. We all want the same things – a prosperous economy, access to quality education, equal opportunity for all, clean water and air,…
Politics
What Happens to the Stock Market During a Contested Presidential Election?
In case you haven’t noticed, there is a Presidential election this year. There is also a lot of talk about an undecided outcome on election day. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many states have expanded absentee ballots, added mail-in requests, and extended early voting. President Trump has made repeated remarks that the results of…
My Presidential Platform
Over a lively dinner discussion the other night, I realized this is the first Presidential election year that I am technically “qualified” to run for President of the United States, having met the minimum age requirement since 2016. I also joked that I am utterly unelectable, given my contrarian views and pragmatism on many issues….
Two Different Worlds
Watching the continuation, if not deepening, of political polarization in this country during the Covid-19 pandemic is maddening. I expected the opposite. A deadly, common enemy should unite us. And yet, depending on your source of news and political persuasion, you are likely to have a very different narrative about the coronavirus, its impact, and…
Teachers
I come from a long line of teachers on my mother’s side of the family. Mom teaches Kindergarten. Both of her sisters, my aunts, are teachers; one elementary and one high school literature. My grandmother was an elementary teacher and school principal. My grandfather was a beloved basketball coach, teacher, and school board member. The…
Billionaires Should Exist
A couple of weeks ago, Democratic Presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, tweeted that “Billionaires should not exist” to introduce his proposal to tax the wealth of the richest Americans. My immediate reaction was that Bernie is dead wrong. But as I have had more time to ruminate on the subject, I’ve developed a more cohesive reason…
National Security
Last week, I attended the annual lunch of the Bureau of Governmental Research in New Orleans where Mike Leiter, former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, spoke about his views on national security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity. When I tell you, this guy has an impressive resume, it’s a dramatic understatement. He is a former naval…
Everybody Knows About Mississippi
We interrupt this blog for a post about a political mishap gone terribly wrong. Last week, Mississippi Senator and run-off candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith was recorded joking about attending a “public hanging”. I have never heard this Southern colloquialism before, but that is what the candidate claims she used when she said of a donor, “If…
