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Showing posts from June, 2026

​The Peril of a Leadership Purge

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​When a nation deliberately eliminates its military leaders and wipes out its institutional knowledge, it places its national security in grave peril. Throughout history, the systematic dismantling of command structures has rarely been a sign of strength; instead, it is a self-inflicted wound that leaves a country dangerously vulnerable to its adversaries. The most catastrophic historical warning of this hubris lies in the 1930s. During the Great Purge, Joseph Stalin decimated the Red Army's leadership. Driven by intense paranoia and an obsessive desire to consolidate absolute power, Stalin executed or imprisoned tens of thousands of experienced officers. The result was a military left leaderless, fractured, and ill-equipped to face the existential threat of World War II just years later. ​Today, we are witnessing a different, yet deeply concerning, manifestation of this impulse. In a sweeping overhaul of American military leadership, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ...

Re‑Governing: Reducing Waste

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The aftermath of our recent war exemplifies our federal waste. The United States government continues to spend far more than it takes in. Federal debt is projected to reach $53 trillion by 2036 without major policy changes.  Most Americans sense the danger: more than 75% believe Washington spends too much, and in 2025 Senator Rand Paul identified $1.6 trillion in documented waste. The waste industry—often dismissed or overlooked—offers one of the clearest models for redesigning an inefficient government. After decades working on used‑oil recycling and evaluating landfill financial assurance, one lesson stands out: design determines outcomes. Waste‑management companies are widely considered recession‑resistant because their essential, non‑discretionary services generate steady cash flow even in downturns.  The government could learn from that discipline.The familiar “third R”—reduce—remains essential. But without rigorous full‑cost accounting, we cannot manage natur...

PRO Tennis

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Tennis has never been just a sport to me—it’s a mindful dance in motion, a dance with the here and now. This magical intention I call PRO Zen Play, where the racket becomes a tuning fork for attention and consistent tennis. Playing in the blazing summer heat is its own bootcamp for presence. Tennis is full of shifting mental weather systems—gusts of doubt, flashes of confidence, storms of frustration. Each one is an invitation to return to the now. My secret formula? Intention + Attention.  The more I lean into effortlessness, the more the game shifts from struggle to flow. At the heart of it is my simple acronym:  PRO—Pause, Relax, Open.  -Pause between points to slow the mind, respond rather than react, and sharpen concentration. -Relax to melt tension and let errors dissolve. -Open to expand perception, embrace unpredictability, and meet the moment as it is.  My path into tennis began with a question to the legendary Pauline Betz Addie—a world champion...

Our Nation’s Treasure in Our Classrooms

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Reader Commentary | nvdaily.com https://share.google/ID7SjLRoYHy6gvtXQ I grew up lucky. Adults took the time to guide me, teach me, and nudge me forward. I learned tennis because older people invested their patience and skill in me, and that attention shaped the course of my life. In the late 1970s, while I was teaching tennis, I began volunteering—what I called happy returns.  Giving back has given me a purposeful life.Over the years—from major schools to my early days at Bryce Resort in 1980—I’ve taught children and adults, freely giving thousands of hours of instruction. My reward comes when former students return years later to thank me.  Building community is priceless. Our greatest national treasure is the attention we give our children.Recently, I volunteered at Robinson Elementary School in Woodstock. Watching a first‑grade teacher command a room full of six‑year‑olds—balancing discipline, curiosity, and joy—reminded me how demanding and noble this work is....