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Want something to read on the airplane? -> Mark Leibovich’s This Town
Conan O’ Brian with First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner 2013 | Photo Courtesy of the Daily Caller
Danny Zeng | December 23rd, 2013
Mark Leibovich’s This Town reads like a juicy sensational piece that could become the next Netflix original hit (like really though), until one pause to realize that the characters portrayed in the book are governing this country…The book is like the perfect misplaced airport magazine filled with colorful sketches of the sort of incestuous political-media-consultancy infestation that America hates and politicians campaign against. I cannot possibly scratch even the sheen of such New Age “Iron Triangle” in a blog post, but it’s worth reflecting. Every time I flip the page of this journalistic rendition of high-profile D.C patrons by a conscious elite member of The Club (Leibovich is the chief national correspondent for the New York Times Magazine), I cannot help but feel sorry for thousands of idealistic politicos whose world may well be shattered before they even plant foot in the Swampland. Leibovich unveils his characters with acerbic bluntness, a degree of high sass surely fermented by a copious amount of Club Soda (exquisite-yet-free bottles of vinos). It does not matter if his characters are elected Republicans/Democrats, superlawyer/fixer, socialites, “formers,” or Hill staff; Leibovich dusk off the front row for his readers on this inside-the-Beltway extravaganza (at times I felt the urge to zap some popcorns myself for all captivations).
Warning: This is a rather poisonous piece (for the high minded), not your Mr.Smith-goes-to-Washington-kind-of sweet civic tonic.
“Washington is a ‘real city,’ but This Town is a state of belonging, a status and a commodity.'” The book begins with Tim Russert’s funeral, an occasion that is typically very personal, somber, serves as a closure for the deceased, a revenue booster for Kleenex, and a reunion for family members and friends. Well with Washington, such occasion serves as a great schomoozing venue, self-promotion, photo ops, Twitter posts (possibly with an attached selfie, as President Obama so well attended to at the Mandela memorial…o too soon?), and false feelings.
“Russert would have loved the outpouring from the power mourners. And he also would have understood better than anyone that all of the speeches and tributes and telegenic choke-ups were never about him. They were about people left behind to scrape their way up the pecking order in his absence.”
Leibovich pokes fun of the Obama people, who campaigned on this change-Washington mantra in ’08, only to become “formers” themselves and retire into the comfortable riches of D.C. strategy firms, often founded and run by other “formers.” His depictions of Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican fiscal hawk Tom Coburn are easy bedtime reads. The Bardella episode with Congressman Darrell Issa (and Bardella himself) is wonderfully instructive for those power-hungry, headstrong, I-am-kind-of-important ladder-climbers. His theory on the rise of such insider culture amongst our nation’s elite (two-party comity, revolving door, increased lobbying interests, rise of political consultants, etc) is not extraordinary in of itself, but his stories and profiles of the elite lend much credence to such theory. Many familiar politicos were described in the book: James Carville and Mary Matalin (“Mataville”), Andrea Mitchell/Alan Greenspan, Haley Barbour, Arianna Huffington, Paul Ryan, David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett, etc. Discernible recurring foci – motifs if you will – from the book emphasize the likes of Mike Allen and his Playbook from Politico, the lavish centrifugal suck-up force that is the red-carpet-style White House Correspondents Dinner (aka “nerd prom” amped up by – you guessed it – Politico) and the apparently two dozen pre-and-post parties planned around it, and Tammy Haddad (maybe it’s only OK that the insiders called her that…btw the New Republic featured a profile on the ‘Tamster’ from Leibovich that reads as a teaser for the book).
The book’s subtitle reads: “Two Parties and a Funeral – plus plenty of valet parking! – in America’s Gilded Capital.” The stately funeral of Richard Holbrooke, former special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, handpicked Hilary darling, an obviously important-sounding public servant who was sidelined by the Obama people, brought in dozens of foreign dignitaries to the Kennedy Center (secular church of sort for the well-do Club members) for another obsequy for the obsequious. The Generals (McChrystal and Allen) were apparently decorated enough to warrant an honorable mention themselves. The book ends with The Last Party, hosted by Sally Quinn and her husband, the journalist demigod, Ben Bradlee, who oversaw the release of Pentagon Papers and the Post’s coverage of Watergate in the 1970s. Apparently Bradlee’s favorite phrase is that “the caravan moves on,” and so as the book comes to a close, Washington rolls on in high spirit. (D.C. is doing so well that it’s the only city, except four other states, that posted gains in its residents’ earnings in the last decade)
As I was finishing the book, I pulled out my computer, stumbled onto Politico, which featured a story about the political power couple James Carville and Mary Matalin “recall finding ‘love,'” only did I find the article to be a promotional push for their newest book, “Love & War: Twenty Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters and One Louisiana Home” (now available on Amazon I’m sure). While I was on Politico, I also looked up the paper’s special coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner 2013 on a dedicated page of its own! It’s the kind of place where where Travis McCoy could surely smile with Oprah and the Queen (uh he’ll have to do with just the Obamas this time). Do your plane ride justice: read the book.
Danny Zeng | December 11, 2013
Recently I went and watched the movie Philomena with a friend during Thanksgiving break (I know…sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with me also but hey it’s Judy Dench! Not gonna lie but loved the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel…anyways). The story was so touching that I went ahead and did a search on the movie that is supposedly inspired by “a true story.” Sure enough, sadly, the story turned out to be quite true. Despite the fact that the director had decided to make Martin Sixsmith, a former BBC correspondent, darker than he is in real life, the story came together through a fateful road-trip relationship developed between Martin and Philomena in search for Anthony, her lost son. Not to spoil the movie, but here is a brief summary: Philomena Lee was a Catholic nun living in a form of indentured servitude to a local convent back in 1950s Ireland. She gave birth to a child out of wedlock, a phenonmenon that was not to be tolerated by the Catholic sisters. Her son was born in the convent and was taken care of with the other orphans until a rich couple adopted him. Philomena at the time had signed away her parental rights to the Church. With only a grainy black-and-white wallet-sized picture, Philomena had thought about and searched for his lost son for fifty years. The New York Times did a story on Philomena recently. Most of the story happened to be true, with the exception that Philomena did not actually came to the U.S. with Martin to look for her son. This was the picture of Anthony (aka Michael Hess) gather by the paper. When the Guardian published the story in 2009, Philomena could only muster her energy to remark, “It [signing Anthony/Michael away and concealing the truth for so long] is the biggest regret of my life and I have to bear that. It is my own fault and now it is my woe.”
This heart-wrenching story, like the Guardian had pointed out, is a remarkable indictment on the 1950s Ireland as well as the 1980s America. Michael Hiss had to live and endure during an era serving a political party that disliked his peers, though less so today, is remarkably patriotic. Ironically, it is Andrew Sullivan, a self-identified political conservative, who first published his argument for gay marriage in the pages of the New Republic in 1989. It is only recently that a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage across 50 states. As recent as 2004, a significant majority (62%) of Americans were against same-sex marriage. Today, the President of the U.S. had come out openly in support of gay marriage. Support for marriage is at historic high for millennials. Rob Portman, Mark Kirk, and Lisa Murkowski are current GOP senators supporting the cause. Ken Melhman, former chair of Republican National Committee, has advocated in public and Wall Street Journal on this issue. Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah, and dozens of former senior officials in Republican administrations, have signed onto a brief supporting same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court cases last June. Republican House Speaker John Boehner recently said that the Party should openly support gay candidates. The times have changed. If only Michael/Anthony were alive today…
For Philomena though, “If only I’d mentioned it all those years ago. Oh Lord, it makes my heart ache.” What’s so remarkable about her journey with Martin Sixsmith as portrayed through the film is her humorous and light-hearted touch on the otherwise dense, somber context. It’s almost if Martin has personified Anthony in real life, whose ardent search for Anthony, initially stemmed from a personal motive for a journalist comeback, resulted in much needed emotional companionship for Philomena. [SPOILER ALERT] However, even Martin’s seeming ascension into a place of moral superiority is vastly dwarfed by Philomena’s higher forgiveness of Sister Hildegrad who buried the truth of the mutual mother-son search from her for decades. The dynamic duo as so ingeniously portrayed by Steven Frears (director of The Queen) left the audience still wondering near the end: is this movie a comedy or a tragedy? I think it is safe to say that the movie incorporates elements of both in order to shed light on a horrific practice symbolized by greed, misplaced moral authority, doctrinaire dogmatism, and loss of humanity through misguided faith. However, even after what Philomena had suffered and endured, the Times reports that she is going back to church again because “she finds it a peaceful place.” Perhaps this is a story that offers hope in humanity by suggesting that closures can be found, but it requires faith, humor, and perseverance. A very well-done film that challenges our own moral compass.
Philomena the film: a true story
Post-Graduation Stress Disorder
Umm…my underage freshman year
I don’t remember this but look how young y’all look (and Hank shaved for the occasion)
This is the more typical Hank look
When ya’ll lived at Duren, and it snowed that year. 500 car accidents the next day.
Typical Waterford shenanigans
Football season – of course never Hank or Shakshi
Yep, we outlasted y’all…
…rising seniors (the new Plastics) who learned from this group to not take things too seriously and simply enjoy being students at THE greatest university on earth \m/
Danny Zeng | May 22, 2013
I spent the last week or so with some of my closest friends in college. Many have graduated over the weekend. Yes I’ll admit it. Part of me feels sad, but it is in the selfish sense that I know that they won’t be around next year for me when I need them (and yes, that’s what true friends are for; they are the chosen family, support system, the wolf pack, insert your own descriptive phrases that capture the same sentiment). Another part of me simply feels numbing: perhaps it’s the drag of the school year, pending end-of-the-semester to-do lists, the stress of dysfunctional politics – OK it’s probably just me…, or simply fatigue and lethargy. I have been sleep deprived from playing way too much Nintendo 64 – that one of us purchased from a Craigslist guy (mhmm) – where I played more tennis (umm Mario tennis) than all the years I’ve been in college. My sleep schedule has been more off-cycle than usual as result of 1) absentmindedly pushing to maximize my time with my graduating seniors; and 2) obsessively glued to Netflix watching House of Cards (that will be a different post in and of itself). I’ve been undoubtedly gaining weight due to poor diet and little exercise, which probably contributed to my general fatigue. This reminds me the importance of self-care for all my graduating seniors! Please eat healthy, exercise often, and sleep plenty. Your health is your seed capital for success in the enterprise of life. I think the most apt description of my current state of mind is faithful optimism, simply having faith in the notion that people and things will turn out to be OK.
My friend walks across stage for her graduation in Government
A roaring sea of black gowns and decorated caps, competitive rounds of whoas and ahhhs for graduates walking across stage, chatty professors in their scholastic robes, clacking of high heels (or the swag of boots trotting about ), layers upon layers of makeup – for the gazillion amateur clicks of professional camera shutters, the pestering yet loving entourage of parents, siblings, extended families and friends, the dormant yet nonetheless tangible mixed emotions of happiness, apprehension, relief, earned success, camaraderie, reciprocity and gratitude have all filled the sultry summer air on commencement night with heavy hearts.
Longhorn families
Think about all the people who ever supported our grads, financially, emotionally, and psychologically. For some, their kids’ graduation from college is the last chapter in what sometimes seems to be a never-ending, very sad, handwritten book (…) With two decades of hard work behind them in raising these graduates, a million-dollar investment, the parents, no doubt, becomes highly emotional during this thoroughfare. After all, college graduation serves as the closure. In fact, if you’d have the same opportunity of witnessing more than 10,000 people sharing that moment together like I did at the UT Austin commencement, then you’d appreciate the rational ubiquity of emotional outbursts.
Commencement 2013 at the University of Texas at Austin | May 18th, 2013
The minute the fireworks shot up into the Austin sky, my heart skipped a beat, and my eyes grew watery. Can this be it for my friends? It seems only yesterday when I met each and every one of them. Those moments of fateful encounters – some might say chance occurrences, but I never found that proposition convincing – seem so removed from the larger reality of graduation, a milestone, a crown achievement, a relief, a “meh.” “One more year this will be me,” I thought. I wondered what each of them was thinking at the time. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, “graduation can’t all just be the rah-rah cheers, fancy restaurants, loud music, and bottomless shots (well…)”
That moment – that night really – I realized what a true excitement it is for the University to graduate more than 8,000 Longhorns into the world to change it for the better! This is a cause for celebration! Graduates are challenged with the task to do just that: make the world a better place. Or in the case of UT, “to transform lives for the benefit of society.” I can’t wait to see what each of them will accomplish in the near and distant future. Among my circle of graduating seniors, there will be a lawyer, a doctor, an educator, an engineer, a business analyst, and a community leader. Each has the ability, the heart, and the humor to change the world in his/her own way. How ordinary an occurrence but extraordinary a thought!
I have nothing but the best wishes and my most deep-felt prayers for each of them as they enter the real world. It will be an adventure of a lifetime, literally. Like I alluded before, I don’t believe in chance encounters. I fundamentally believe there is a reason that God has put them in my life. I believe God has a purpose for each one of them. And I believe that God will care for and guide them through life’s many trials. Not only do I believe so, I know so. My faith gives me both optimism and relief: I know they are in good hands. These people are my chosen family in college. They will remain my chosen family in life and for life. I am sincerely excited and extremely optimistic for this group of passive-aggressive jokesters, high achievers, and leaders. The first generation of Waterford crowd had graduated. I shall leave them all with the following passage from one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books, Oh the Places You’ll Go!, that my fifth grade teacher had once read to us 🙂 – you’d never go wrong re-reading Dr. Seuss.
Rockstars
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
To answer my own question, of course, this is not it for my friends. They have a long way to go. There will be lots of excitements, triumphs, disappointments, and yes failures; but the joy of friendship will live on. And just for the record: I don’t really suffer from post-graduation stress disorder (this is not real). I’m simply trying to treasure and preserve the memories that I’ve made with these peeps over the last few years. For these grads – Hank, Shakshi, Wesley, Nayana, Katie, and Simon – who are already changing the world and will continue to do so, I am faithfully optimistic.
Love,
Danny
The Legacy of George W. Bush: Freedom is Universal
Photos Courtesy of the George W. Bush Center
Danny Zeng | April 29th, 2013
As I was watching the re-run of the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center over the weekend, I was struck by the transcendent nature of the office of the presidency, that so many have dedicated their lives to preserving and promoting in modern times. Laura Bush articulates the democratic nature of the library by pointing out that, “like the White House, the Presidential Library belongs to all American people.” The office of the Presidency is the only office in our country that is nationally elected through the Electoral College with the support of the popular vote. To me, Presidential Libraries represent the collective memories of our nation. They are academic portals to the uncovering of historical truths. They symbolize the spirit and strength of our democracy. I was reminded that so many modern presidents and their families have poured their hearts and minds into leading our nation through prosperous and trying times. I alongside my fellow Americans am indebted to their service to our nation in preservation of our precious liberties.
George W. Bush’s legacy will be left to the judgment of history. Sure, he has made mistakes, like all presidents had. President Bush, however, also made historic decisions during his presidency in a post 9/11 world that are still shaping the course of the nation and indeed of the world today. He is a man of conviction. He admits that one of his deepest convictions is for the United States to promote freedom.
I believe that freedom is a gift from God and the hope of every human heart. Freedom inspired our founders and preserved our union through civil war and secured the promise of civil rights. Freedom sustains dissonance bound by chains. Believers huddled in underground churches. And voters who risked their lives to cast their ballots. Freedom unleashed creativity, rewards innovation and replaces poverty with prosperity. And ultimately freedom lights the path to peace. Freedom brings responsibility
The cornerstone of President Bush’s unique brand of conservatism lies in compassion: “Independence from the State does not mean isolation from each other. A free society thrives when neighbors help neighbors. And the strong protect the weak. And public policies promote private compassion”
What a remarkable occasion to witness all living Presidents of this greatest nation on earth sharing a stage together in dedication to the legacy of freedom and democracy.
From President Carter’s classic punchy adulation for Bush 43’s effort in procuring a peace agreement for Sudan, to President Clinton’s claim as the “black sheep” of the Bush family, and yet even to President Obama’s acknowledgement of President Bush’s legacy in Africa, the semblance of democratic stability and maturity was striking. One of my favorite moments from the ceremony was after President H.W. Bush briefly thanked everyone for attending the dedication, Bush 43 whispered to his old man, “good job,” H.W. responded, “what? Too long?”
I look forward to the work of the George W. Bush Institute, especially in education reform, human freedom, woman’s initiative, and global health. Love it or hate it, the legacy of the Bush family will endure in the cause of freedom, and we are the next generation to carry on this arduous task. As we like to say and know here at UT, the Eyes of Texas are upon us: we are the future.
I salute President Bush for his sacrifice and service to our country.
“Life is a service to the end” – George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States of America
Instinct by Design
- Career Fair | Courtesy of http://blog.skye2905.com/
This week is Career Week at McCombs School of Buinsess. The usual ritual commands hundreds of students in black suit and pants, wielding polished leather padfolios, distributing uniform formatted resumes as their ways to market themselves to Corporate America. This is the one week during the semester where the academy meets the real world. Students of all ages scramble to meet recruiters, strike a conversation, and laugh uncomfortably to awful jokes that they themselves have well buried within the remotest part of their comedic repertoire throughout the years.
I always find it intriguing to observe people who are at different stages of their career development at career fairs. Freshmen who mustered the guts to come to Career Expo to learn from the experience scurried aimlessly about. Sophomores who espouse a nonchalance strolled back and forth, while sharing a sympathetic outlook after the upperclassmen whose caffeinated hilarity betrayed their true ignorance of their objects. On one hand, there were aggressive recruiters who strategically round up loitering students to their booths; and on the other hand, there were recruiters who received the full royal treatment from what looked like a disarray courtship from international dignitaries – most certainly not discounting those toadies and chatterboxes.
Dropping off one’s resume is only the first step in a series of rituals one has to undergo in modern days to obtain a job. There is also the informal courtship through social media and most certainly “email” (What is that?) While this whole course of actions is quite entertaining from a bird’s eye view – so to speak, but that is how we as human beings choose or rather prefer to function. Isn’t that fascinating though?! Our culture, our tradition, and our history project much intrigue and amusement that even in the 21st century, we are succumbed to those ritualistic instincts to entertain and make others like us just like how we’ve done so throughout the ages.
What’s Enough?
I just finished John C. Bogle‘s book Enough: True Mesures of Money, Business, and Life, a wonderful novella (very readable) reminding us about what’s important in life. Fortune magazine had once named Mr. Bogle as one of the four “Investment Giants” of 20th century. Time had named Mr. Bogle as one of the Top 100 most powerful and influential people in the world. In his latest book, yet, Mr. Bogle writes with much humility and humanity.
Having made a fortune (though not in the billionaire club due to his own styles and the model of his business) from pioneering the first index fund with Vanguard, the company he founded in 1974. Mr. Bogle, an octogenarian, reflects on his life and career and offers many profound yet simple pointers for students of finance such as myself. Broadly speaking, Jack Bogle has a vision to return the finance industry back to one of stewardship, away from the salesmanship that prevails in today’s financial world. What resonated with me so much is his vision for regular people to be true investors – thus owners, not mere speculators, in low-cost, low-turnout index funds, that generate lasting wealth, rather than proactively managed funds that are costly and are questionable in serving shareholders’ interests. Ultimately, he wants to return values and character to the business world and society at large, in particular, professional ethics to all professions, to a degree in which success will no longer be measured by things – or merely wealth, fame, and power – but rather who we are as human beings and what value we create for our society.
As a Finance student, fumbling and tripping over myself in ardent pursuit of a viable post-grad financial career, the next step, I garnered much needed advice and encouragement from this book, especially from someone in my field who had done exceedingly well by all standards. Mr. Bogle’s call for us to not chase the false rabbits of success,a ringing caveat:
“For while our best and brightest are exquisitely trained to pursue the false rabbits of success, on the whole they are being poorly trained in the intangible qualities that become the virtues that bring real success”
Competition is good and has shown to be good, but what are we competing for? THAT is a profund question.
Last advice that I earmarked from this book: Be Bold, Commit, then Providence will follow
“Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute; What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”
(Bogle cites 19th-century German philosopher Goethe)
Lastly, I’ll leave you with Bogle’s brilliant epiphany captured by T.S. Eliot regarding what counts in life in this Era of Information that we live in, when we are inundated with data and facts; all the while we lack judgment and perhaps critical thinking:
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries
Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust
Let this be clarion call for some serious soul-searching and reflection for us all.
Wow what an awesome reminder of what’s really important
Like many of you, I enjoy a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
This video gave me a new perspective on a cup of coffee. I hope it will for you also ~ enjoy!
~
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“Enjoy your coffee today, be happy with the cup you are drinking from and enjoy your life!”
thank you for your visit,
~ Penny
2012 Rewind: Things that I Remember
Here’s my list of things that I remember the most from 2012 – which doesn’t include Higgs Boson (I really don’t know what that is) or space shuttle Discover. I know I must have forgotten a lot of great things that have happened. But here are the top ones that came to mind…
1. Harvard Baseball guys’ “Call Me Maybe” video, which is arguably better than Carly Ray Jepson’s real video, started a bandwagon of people doing the same, including one by Abercrombie & Fitch and USA olympic team swimmers.
2. Meryl Streep, one my my favorite actresses of all time, won Best Actress for her performance in “The Iron Lady. Meryl’s been nominated 17 times for the Oscars, winning three. She holds the record for the most-nominated actor/actress for Academy Awards.
3. The Queen’s entrance to the London Olympic Games 2012 with Daniel Craig. In August, we were all captivated by US swimming team and woman’s gymnastics – both performed spectacularly and took home many Gold medals.
4. MSNBC announced that President Obama wins Ohio, and thus, the Election. More importantly, better yet, Megan Kelly’s raw reaction to Obama’s win on Fox News.
5. There were many weird things during the 2012 campaign, including vicious campaign ads. Among them, the one I remember the most is Clint Eastwood’s speech at the Republican National Convention…yep the one where he talks to an empty chair
6. While PSY does deserve much credit for being the world’s most recognizable Korean pop musician, but nothing beats “Mitt Romney Style” from College Humor. Though *ahem* politically incorrect, but too hilarious to not to be noticed.
7. True, when we think about the Summer Olympics, we think about Gabby Douglas and the whole woman gymnastics team; Or perhaps the inspirational Oscar Pistorius (this is one of my favorite pics); and Maybe the swimmers like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps…ok let’s dwell on the swimmers for a minute…the British ones… especially when they lip synced LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It”
8. Burmese opposition leader, Aung Sung Suu Kyi, one of the most commendable democratic icons in international politics, was elected to Burmese parliament after 20 years in house arrest. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, but couldn’t receive it then because she was under house arrest, but this year, she was finally able to make it to Oslo to give her lecture.
9. The story of Shane Crone and Tom Bridegroom probably touched everyone in the LGBTQ community, when Shane released this powerful video, “It Could Happen to You,” earlier this year in remembrance of his boyfriend. His story highlights many struggles, still current, in the LGBTQ community. I believe that our country is making progress on this front, as shown by more and more Fortune 500 companies pushing non-discrimination and diversity policies. I believe members of the LGBTQ community will be fully integrated into the American society in the near future. One day, our lives won’t be politicized anymore because liberty and freedom are historic forces that no single political group can prevent in a free society.
10. Ok, that’s really all I can think of at the moment. Here’s a place holder, but rather, an urging for your to go see Les Miserables in theater! I watched it last night. It was great. This sure-to-be blockbuster musical remake of Victor Hugo’s classic 19th century novel will challenge you intellectually and emotionally on so many levels. You’ll undoubtedly extract a lot from it like I have.
2012 has been a wonderful year for me. I learned so much and met so many people. I cannot be more ready for 2013. I sincerely wish all of you a Happy New Year! May you have a prosperous year and may the Lord be at your side always. There’ll be good and better things coming your way, I’m sure. Have faith. Let’s celebrate life together!
Principled Compromise is OK
Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.
Where there is error, may we bring truth.
Where there is doubt, may we bring faith.
And where there is despair, we may bring hope.
– Margaret Thatcher, upon winning her premiership in 1979
Recently, I finished reading the book The Iron Lady by John Campbell, who skillfully and objectively detailed the political career of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving prime minister in the history of Great Britain. There is much to be learned from Lady Thatcher in today’s state of politics. Being the first – and still only – woman British prime minister, leading a major western nation during the downfall of soviet communism and against the global advance of socialism, Lady Thatcher was regarded as a “conviction politician” who fought hard for what she believed was best for her country and the free world. During her time, her challenges were unique: stagflation, inefficient bureaucracy, ballooning public spending, the very real threat from Soviet hegemony, the ideological struggle against collectivism, domestic terrorism, defending British sovereignty, and militant unions. Surrounded by Cabinet full of men (there was only one woman she appointed to her Cabinet during her years in office), she resolutely argued – perhaps too doggedly – against collectivist “wet” ideas within her own Government, which in her view were simply wrong. In doing so, she alienated many of her colleagues. At times though, she had to give in to others. However, she tried to be a principled leader. That is the kind of politicians that we direly need in our nation’s Capital today: pragmatic ideologues.
Time Out 