On This Good Friday: On this US Election Campaign (@tedcruz; @realDonaldTrump), #Gandhi & Other Thoughts

It has been quite a morning here in #Outsiders as the team worked away on the Twitter Channel with the daily hashtag watch series.     I was also on my personal twitter feed as I was just taken aback by the nasty tone in the political discourse by the leading GOP candidates.   I made it a point of noting an admonition to both Senator Cruz and Mr. Trump that they need to grow up because the people deserve better as their wives were brought into the conversation which deflects from their policy positions which are literally either non-existent.    I was glad to see I was not alone as MSNBC's Joe Scarborough underscored this specifically admonishing Senator Cruz on his call to monitor Muslims.  Senator Cruz doubled down on it as he took the criticism as a "badge of honor" as if he was doing something right.

As our team races to work on weekend editions of Notations, I am excited about the Musical Interlude that would be available on the #outsider properties within the next few hours.   The team was busy as all of us were working away on the curations.    For me, two interesting things crossed my desk that made my day: 

By popular request, 2 of @RGalbrath's rejection letters! (For inspiration, not revenge, so I've removed signatures.) pic.twitter.com/vVoc0x6r8W

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016

J.K Rowling's story is well known.   But taking this bold step; was fabulous in making sure all understood that one must never give up.   The perservance of such people is just amazing which is a lesson for us here at #outsiders as our journey of service continues.   She noted in a subsequent tweet that, "..... I had nothing to lose and sometimes that makes you brave enough to try...." This is as I was thinking about the discourse on leadership as I saw this from the ever-eloquent Darren Hardy on Leadership during my daily review:

Click to Play

Before I ever ask someone to do or be anything, I think of a story I once hear about Mahatma Gandhi.

It is such a great example to live up to and delivers an invaluable lesson on the character of leadership...Go to post

I could not help but wonder why what Gandhi, Dr. King and Mandela taught us seems to have been forgotten.  But I remain optimstic because I see no other way.    This is what we're about in the end here in #outsiders.

Happy Easter and a Happy belated Purim to all Jewish Brothers and Sisters....

Working Away w/Thoughts on #leadership, #Belgium & #giving.....

It has been admittedly a challenging week  as our World was once again was witness to violence.   The Belgian Prime Minister called it a black day for Belgium--it was a black day for the whole World.   While on the "Grid" this morning, I saw this which I also posted on my own Facebook wall that underscores what we must all do:

It is a simple call--but was a call that Francois Hollande so eloquently noted when he spoke in Paris as France and the World remembered    It is ever so true now.    The team only decided on one formal release in the Education Channel as it also finished the daily Twitter Curation to have a day to reflect. I eagerly await what the artist of the week is as the Friday Musical Interlude looms.

It was with a point of pride as I was witness to my Community, Laguna Niguel, honoring Belgium which I featured as a Good Turn for the team--and once again appreciate of the team having featured it on the #Outsider Twitter Channel: 

 

As I worked away supporting the #outsider properties,  this from the Fortune's Alan Murray crossed my desk which was quite disturbing--excerpts of it are noted below:  

March 24, 2016

Fortune's annual list of the World's Greatest Leaders is out this morning, and you can read it here. You'll see it includes none of the current candidates for President. That's not an accident. The U.S. political system is broken, and we see little reason to think the current contenders can fix it. Start with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. It's stunning that, well into the 21st century, the two candidates generating the most enthusiasm are throwbacks to the 20th. One is channeling a fascist strongman, the other running as a self-styled socialist. Neither has the vision or skills to take us into the future, but both have tapped into the public's deep dissatisfaction with the recent past. The failures of government since the financial crisis have handed supporters of these candidates their strongest talking point: Could it get any worse? Hillary Clinton talks about building bridges instead of walls and built a record of bipartisan cooperation in her post-First Lady life as a senator and secretary of state. But by mimicking her primary opponent - and opposing the trade agreement she once championed - she has alienated even those business leaders who once supported her. Then there's Ted Cruz, who celebrates, even as he exacerbates, Washington's dysfunction. The good news is that Fortune's search for great leaders was not in vain. Even in Washington, we found some—including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While unyielding in their competing worldviews, they each have that key quality of empathy essential for today's challenges. From the business world, we've included Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who recognizes that the current political climate also demands a different kind of business leadership. Top of the list? Amazon's Jeff Bezos. His company got pummeled in a New York Times story last year depicting Amazon as a sort of high-tech sweat-shop, where the pressure caused workers to break down at their desks in tears. But leadership comes in various flavors, and the Bezos strain is yielding world-changing results. Also today, Dov Seidman, CEO of LRN, has a worthy suggestion for how Hillary Clinton could remake herself a real leader. Read it here.   It is a tragic testament as the two leading Presidential Candidates did not make the list--although Justice Ginsburg and Speaker Ryan were very interesting choices. Onward.....

On a Dark Day in Our World......

Our team began the day thinking about the US Elections as people are voting right now in a number of States, reflecting upon World Water Day, thinking about the aftermath of the Apple announcement. and an on-going assessment of the AIPAC conference in Washington. The attacks in Brussels this morning shocked us.    It is a dark day in our World as I write this.  

 Our team released a special edition of Notations this morning on the attacks in Belgium.    As I was doing my overnight review, I began by launching my New York Times App on my Kindle and had to refresh it three times before I realized what had occurred.    

For me, it brought memories of 9/11 back.   I remember I was getting ready for work as CNN was playing in the background as the first plane hit.   My wife and I could not believe it and I frankly thought for a minute it was scenes from the World Center Attack in 1993.    My Wife shouted in horror as we were witness to the second plane and the horror afterward truly changed our World  forever.  

As I write this, Brussels Airport CEO is having a news conference noting that the Airport will be closed through tomorrow as they gear up to be back in Operations as some 600 flights have been canceled.  

The team at #outsiders has decided to be "dark"  through tomorrow in honor of the fallen in Belgium as we remember them in our thought and prayers today with Belgium and Europe: