Published in The Shadow·May 19The Handmaid’s Tale“Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.” – Bertolt Brecht, Life of Galileo We are an over-polled society, a fact which subsequently influences politicians to prefer to follow rather than lead. Yet, how is it possible that up until U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft in Dobbs v…Roe V Wade5 min read
Published in The Shadow·May 19The Scarlet Letter“When the founders wrote ‘We The People’ in the preamble, they did not have in mind the majority of America’s citizens.” – Justice Thurgood Marshall, from a 1987 speech Spoiler Alert: I am pro-choice but am also a strong supporter of religious liberty. I appreciate the outcome of Roe but…Roe V Wade4 min read
Published in The Shadow·May 6Managing Through an Angry Marketplace“Sir, your Grace’s displeasure and my imprisonment are things so strange unto me, as what to write, or what to excuse, I am altogether ignorant…And to speak a truth, never Prince had wife more loyal in all duty, and in all true affection, than you have ever found in Anne…Risk Management4 min read
Published in The Shadow·Apr 27Win By Any Means Necessary“More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.” ― Truman Capote What’s enough? When are we satisfied? The brilliance of capitalism is that it keeps us motivated — ever creating, ever expanding. Its fatal flaw is that, for many of us, we are never satisfied. There is always…History3 min read
Published in The Shadow·Apr 21The Lusitania Sinks Again“Is there anything more beautiful in the world than to sit before an open window and enjoy nature, to listen to the birds singing, feel the sun on your cheeks and have a darling boy in your arms?” – Anne Frank, from her diary, April 19, 1944, three months before the…Russia Ukraine War6 min read
Published in The Shadow·Apr 4Is NY Times v. Sullivan in Jeopardy?“It is as certain that many opinions, now general, will be rejected by future ages, as it is that many, once general, are rejected by the present.” – John Stuart Mill, “On Liberty” I am not sure of the exact moment when we matriculate from youth to adulthood, but it…Freedom Of Speech4 min read
Published in The Shadow·Mar 23Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?” – William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Growing up with The Washington Post 60 years ago meant suffering through the Washington Senators and Redskins [sic], who, collectively, despite the homerun prowess of Frank Howard…Politics3 min read
Published in The Shadow·Mar 16Navigating Risk“Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines.” – George C. Scott as Gen. ‘Buck’ Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove I have always been amazed at the confident abandon with which we use words like “due diligence,” as if we can accurately and fully read and understand every risk…Russian Hacking5 min read
Mar 11The Russians Are Coming“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” – Mark Twain About five years ago, I was struck by two articles written by Molly McKew — a journalist, former aide to the president of Georgia and an expert in information warfare —…Thought Leadership4 min read
Mar 11Is This the Moment Ukraine Saves Democracy?“Russians will ‘see our faces, not our backs.’” – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy About five years ago while I was preparing for a speech, one of the other speakers approached me, an historian who studied the large, Hegelian dialectics of history — the swings from extremes. Jointly worried about what…Thought Leadership5 min read
