Tag Archives: leadership

An Exceptional Week for U.S. Diplomacy

Posted on September 12, 2013 by mhowgill

With regard to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments in today’s New York Times, a friend just grumbled that for Putin “to think he can play us like a fiddle for his own gain” requires significant hubris. I suggest that for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American exceptionalism, chemical warfare, leadership, Russia, Syria, United Nations | Leave a comment

Resorting to Power Reflects Failure of Leadership

Posted on September 7, 2013 by mhowgill

As Dana Milbank pointed out in Wednesday’s Post, the administration needs to come clean with the facts on which it is basing a decision to intervene unilaterally in Syria. This momentous decision should not be made in sealed rooms by … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged consensus, constitution, current affairs, current-events, dogma, freedom, international affairs, leadership, Middle East, military power, politics, power, Syria, terror, unilateral action, United Nations, war | Leave a comment

Seeking Unbound Lives

Posted on November 12, 2012 by mhowgill

Republicans are frantically seeking someone to blame for their completely predictable election defeat last week. But all their carping and evasion hasn’t yet revealed the most obvious explanation. The United States in 2012 moved closer to its Founders’ vision of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged competitiveness, current-events, diversity, dogma, election, election results, freedom, ideology, immigration policy, leadership, politics, presidency, presidential election | 1 Comment

Are We To Become a Nanny State?

Posted on October 9, 2012 by mhowgill

Governor Romney’s current campaign platform is that he knows how to create jobs. He asserts that President Obama has had four years to fix the economy and failed. The governor promises to succeed. The governor sees the private sector as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged competitiveness, economy, government role, leadership, nanny state, politics, presidential election | Leave a comment

Without Integrity Nothing Else Matters

Posted on September 24, 2012 by mhowgill

Do I make myself more handsome by portraying others as ugly? Can I make my ideas sound better by distorting those of others? When we knowingly misrepresent facts, we’re lying. And lying is among the gravest of threats to our … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accuracy, competitiveness, current-events, diversity, election, ethics, free speech, integrity, leadership, politics, presidential election, truth, voter rights | Leave a comment

Free Speech Can’t Live with Lies

Posted on September 13, 2012 by mhowgill

According to scholars Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, the bi-partisan duo who recently published It’s Even Worse than It Looks, “Viral emails and word-of-mouth campaigns are expanding sharply, mostly aimed at false facts about political adversaries”(p. 66). Last November, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged current-events, election, free speech, freedom, Internet lies, leadership, politics, presidential election, truth, viral emails, voter rights, voting rights | Leave a comment

To Lie or Not to Lie?

Posted on September 1, 2012 by mhowgill

According to scholars, as living things evolved they developed deeply entrenched characteristics to avoid becoming victims and to succeed as predators. This impulse to deceive enables survival, and those that are unable to fool their predators or their victims die, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged current affairs, election, fairness, free speech, leadership, politics, presidential election, voter rights, voting rights | Leave a comment

Confirmation Bias

Posted on August 31, 2012 by mhowgill

In legislative deliberations, Congress increasingly rejects scientific findings in favor of persuasive lobbying positions and political dogma. This behavior is reported in their most recent work, It’s Even Worse than It Looks by American Enterprise Institute’s Norman Ornstein and Brookings’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged current-events, leadership, politics, presidential election, science | Leave a comment

Lead or Get Out of the Way!

Posted on August 27, 2012 by mhowgill

Can America still compete? Although the United States has led the world in agricultural and industrial production, we’re now threatened by global competitors as science and technology, freer markets and cheap labor make foreign economies grow. Fortunately, embedded at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged competitiveness, current-events, diversity, innovation, leadership, politics, religion | Leave a comment