Category: Leadership
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The clear and simple path to defeat this tax reform bill
**A short version of this blog post is posted here.** The post was updated 11/15 to reflect Senator Johnson’s opposition. Republicans in Congress have an obligation to their ultra-wealthy backers to pass a tax reform package that the majority of Americans do not want. While most of us recognize that tax reform is a good thing and…
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Inspiration from ‘Lady with a Fan’
“That’s how it stands today. You decide if he was wise. The story teller makes no choice, soon you will not hear his voice. His job is to shed light, and not to master.” This lyric by Robert Hunter was posted on the cover of my personal blog cover page for part of the 1990s…
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A note on populism and civility
For more than 30 years I’ve been an active consumer advocate for health care reform. My message has been the same over the years. We are on an unsustainable path that is increasingly hurting ordinary Americans. The solutions are available but we lack the leadership to implement them. Over my career I’ve helped more than…
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The most powerful speech of the 21st century
George W. Bush delivered this speech on Oct. 19, 2017 at the at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World” event hosted by the George W. Bush Institute in New York City. It is simply the best speech from a national leader that I’ve heard in my adult lifetime. He addresses how to…
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Ducks in a row
I spent some time this weekend getting my ducks in a row, quite remarkably, pertaining to open land preservation that is most likely to be known as a duck habitat. This area along the Delaware Bay was once famous for it duck populations. Now we have only a small fraction of that peak population. Duck…
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Five Ways I Support the Paris Accord
A large majority of Americans support the goals of the Paris Accord. A fewer number, like me, take this support a step further by stating that the Paris Accord represents the most significant action that humankind has taken to preserve life on planet earth. We notice that the level of support for voluntary international efforts…
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Cities vote to support impeachment investigation
I urge my hometown of Philadelphia to join other cities across the country like Los Angeles, Berkeley, Alameda, Richmond, Charlotte, Cambridge in passing a resolution to support for any legislative action to investigate Trump’s possible violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. We can not rely on federal government to complete an investigation of…
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Forming an action plan before setting a goal = FAIL
Tonight the nation prepares for the next imminent failure of Congress in its efforts to reform the nation’s health care policy. By the end of the week we will likely read headlines that the efforts of our nation’s leadership landed in the scrap heap again. Why? There is a simple but important lesson here for all…
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Charging bull and defiant girl at the bayshore
This sculpture exhibit and the associated story in The Wall Street Journal this week perfectly symbolize for me where we stand today in the evolution of humanity. It strikes a chord with me personally having transitioned from Wall Street to environmental advocacy and now facing the threats of institutional power. This week the small business…
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Trumpgate: the huge problem on our hands
This is an excerpt from from Robert Reich’s explanation of “Trumpgate”. We are now 8 days into this bizarre event in history sparked by a meltdown by the president and no evidence that there is anything real outside the president’s imagination. I can’t think of any explanation other than these three. If #2 is now ruled…