Working Away w/some mid-week thoughts on @realDonaldTrump; #California & #mistakes......

June has begun.  I can't help but wonder where the year has gone.    As we were witness to the horrific events in Houston with the shootings, today was no different--this was also as I saw reports of some 60 people being shot in Chicago over the Memorial Day Week-End.

 As I was working away this morning, I saw that UCLA was on lockdown after reports of a shooting.   I fired off a quick email to my cousin who serves as  Counselor there to make sure she was OK--thankfully she was as she noted that she had moved to a secure building until things were secure.    I fired off a quick personal tweet tagging the twitter handle of the Republican Party and the office of the House Speaker with the simple question:  How much is enough.   This is as Trump  his unqualified support for the 2nd Amendment as he seems to not have much patience for other elements of the Bill of Rights.    I was horrified when I saw his tirade against the Press yesterday for questioning him about his claims on monies raised for Veterans as he also went after a Federal District Judge--something that his spokesperson reiterated on appearances last week.   He put the press on notice:  It will like this when he makes it the White House. If that does not give people pause, I don't know what will.

What I found interesting this morning was how the trials of Donald Trump made the front page of the New York Times--yet the Wall Street Journal took a soft approach.   To the Wall Street Journal's credit, though, it was yet again tough on him on the Editorial Page Today especially on his attack on the Federal District Judge.          The Wall Street Journal was supportive of his speech on Energy Policy in North Dakota--although his speech was basically dismissed by analysts as underscored by this from the New York Times: 

Experts on @realDonaldTrump's energy plan: "I don't think he has any knowledge of global energy markets." https://t.co/ZQI5qSGzy6

— Coral Davenport (@CoralMDavenport) May 28, 2016

What I found even more laughable was Trump's comments that there was no drought in California.   As someone who was witness to it all, it was needless to say disappointing.   The New Yorker's Andy Borowitz though said this on his Facebook wall that made me fall out of my chair in laughter:



The rather feeble attempts by Bill Kristol to mount a 3rd Party Challenger is at best will make one or two news cycles--the interesting story though is what the libertarian ticket of Gary Johnson and William Weld will do.

As I finish off these thoughts and support the on-going development of #outsiders, I ran across this which I took comfort in as I remind myself of what the Great Diane Nyad always says-Onward:

“Some people cannot accept mistakes.
Everything has to be perfect from the start.
They think others will look down on them
if they appear to be flawed.
These people are frequently stressed.
The happiest and most successful people
focus on improvement.
They love mistakes and flaws,
because they see them as opportunities to grow.
Learn from these people.
Have lofty goals,
but have realistic standards.
Don’t judge yourself based on the results of your action.
See them as feedback,
and seek improvement from there.”
~ Blon Lee

Working Away On the Eve of the New Week: On the 99th Birthday of President Kennedy.....

I ran across this from +Jonathan Huie that blew me away in terms of the reality and the rhetoric before us in the midst of the campaign season.   President Kennedy's  admonition on avoiding military solutions was  poignant.  I always wonder what may have been had he lived on this Memorial Day 2016:

 

Do not pray for easy lives.

Pray to be stronger men.

- John F. Kennedy

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

- John F. Kennedy

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie,

deliberate, contrived and dishonest,

but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.

- John F. Kennedy

 The basic problems facing the world today

are not susceptible to a military solution.

- John F. Kennedy

There are risks and costs to action.

But they are far less than the long range

risks of comfortable inaction.

- John F. Kennedy

On the Prowl On this Memorial W-End 2016 w/this from @POTUS & An Admonition from Victor Frankl

I decided to break my sabbatical briefly to catch up on the grid and to facilitate some updates in support of #outsiders.     This was posted by a Facebook Friend as the President visited Hiroshima:

It is quite poignant especially as we in America remember the fallen on this Memorial Day 2016.    I could not help but wonder if the President's Vision will ever be realized as Victor Frankl reminded us in A Man's Search for Meaning to ".......  be alert in a two-fold sense: Since Aushchiwtiz we know what man is capable of, Since Hiroshima We know what is at stake..."...

Thought For the Week: Steve Case on the Future of Innovation

Earlier this week, I had a chance to catch Steve as he spoke about the "Third Wave".   It is a book worth checking out as I hope all enjoy this on this memorial weekend: Steve Case on the Future of Innovation

On the Eve of Memorial Day WeekEnd 2016: Brief Thoughts & Some Pandora Music 2 Enjoy....

It is Memorial Weekend.    Although it is a working weekend for me, #Outsiders will be dark with the exception of periodic updates over the Twitter Channel.    It is also an exciting June as I will be serving in the Elections as an Elections Officer--my 10th Election!!!

Despite a rather challenging week, I wanted to begin the weekend on a high note as I got this from Pandora (and the team has decided to also pick it up) as I wish all a great Memorial weekend:

Roll down the windows and enjoy the perfect soundtrack for your Summer road trip.

Summer Hits 2016 Road Trip Country Road Trip

Hip-Hop Road Trip Family Road Trip

Lip Sync Road Trip Latin Hits Road Trip

Mid-Week Notations: On An Interesting Week.....

It is the eve of Wednesday.    It was nice as I picked up this from +Jonathan Huie that has been featured periodically on #Outsiders.    This is as an old movie, The American President, is playing in the background--I can't help but be blown away by the similarities.      Richard Dreyfuss' Character reminds me of Donald Trump.

Onward...

 

There's no reality except the one contained within us.

That's why so many people live an unreal life.

They take images outside them for reality and never

allow the world within them to assert itself.

- Hermann Hesse 

To raise new questions, new possibilities,

to regard old problems from a new angle,

requires creative imagination.

- Albert Einstein

I am the owner of my choices.

I am the source for the perspectives I choose to hold...

regardless of how aware I am of why or how I come to possess that

particular perspective.

It takes courage to look into the mirror of our souls, absent excuses.

I will look into that mirror little bits at a time.

SEE and ACT. SEE what I can bear to see and ACT upon what I am able.

This is the heart of a gentle invitation to personal responsibility.

- Mary Anne Radmacher

On the Eve of a New Week: From the "Grid" On #Amazon, Leadership, Hope, #USElections & Other Thoughts.....

As I finished off a late "round" before running off, I decided to share some "tidbits" I had picked up during the week on the eccletic areas I have interest in.      Reading about a fearless leader (Bezos) gives me hope, learning from the most creative people in the world is always fun, respecting a man who made such a difference and was selfless to the End (Dr. Mossadeq) is enticing, knowing about MOAS and their selfless efforts is just fabulous--although this is tempered by what the Washington Post Determined to be a "good month" for Donald Trump--as his alter ego in Israel continues onward with what may well be expected if Trump actually wins.     Lindsey Graham is urging people to back Trump--and he has been wrong sooooooooo many times it is not even funny:

The power of Sheldon https://t.co/pHmNYsugDA

— Chemi Shalev (@ChemiShalev) May 22, 2016

This are why I remain hopeful:  

Great Jeff Bezos quote on the Fire Phone flop: "We're working on much bigger failures right now" https://t.co/r71V6GszSt @eugenekim222

— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) May 18, 2016

The 2016 Most Creative People In Business Meet this year’s most inspiring leaders in technology, design, media, music, entertainment, marketing, science, sports and more.

Working away as I remember an Iranian Patriot, Dr. Mohammad Mosadeq on his b-day...reading his autobiograh... https://t.co/Yb64m3CjWW

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) May 19, 2016

Dear MOAS Supporter, Since the launch of our mission in the Aegean Sea in December, MOAS has rescued and assisted more than 1,800 men, women and children on the crossing between Turkey and Greece. Our work was in response to the ever increasing need for maritime search and rescue interventions in the region, and we worked closely with the Hellenic Coast Guard, JRCC Piraeus and various other state and non-state stakeholders. We are proud to have been a part of an international civil society response to the humanitarian crisis that grips the region. Although still ongoing, the needs of the beneficiary community have shifted and our maritime search and rescue expertise becomes increasingly called for in other regions. In March 2016, migration through the Central Mediterranean soared to 300% higher than the number seen in March 2015. In April, the route overtook the Aegean route as the Mediterranean’s busiest migrant crossing. With several tragedies already having been reported in the Central Mediterranean, MOAS will be heading there at the end of this month to help where our search and rescue operations are needed most.  This from the Washington Post--if hiring a pollster is good news, I wonder what is bad news--and Donald Trump is indeed having a good year as underscored by his financials too:   Why Donald Trump is having a good month Having a good month. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) Forget the headlines — Donald Trump is having a very good month. This isn't just because his businesses may be seeing a campaign-year boost, or because Democrats have currently wrested the title of "Party Most Likely To Experience Arrests On the Convention Floor" away from the GOP. At this point in the year, when presumptive nominees tend to take a bit of a break from the road, the campaign action is largely defined by moves you can't capture on camera. And right now, Donald Trump appears to be making the right ones. Today, Chris Cillizza took a closer look at a few of them: 1. Traveling to D.C. to meet with Paul Ryan. He needed to make a gesture that would give party leaders like Ryan a justification for their change of heart. He made it. "The mood in the wake of Trump's visit — from Ryan to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus — was ebullient. And, more importantly for Trump, it was clear that Ryan would, at some point in the not-too-distant future, be for him." 2. Hiring a pollster. You can (maybe) win a primary season without a pollster; Trump often bragged about the fact that he did. That is one of many, many differences between a nomination fight and a general election. A candidate competing nationwide with no guidance on where to direct resources, what messages are working and which battlegrounds to concede is experiencing the campaign equivalent of sensory deprivation. Donald Trump is no longer campaigning blind: This week, he hired veteran Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio. "There's no downside for Trump. Do you think one person who was for him in the primary is going to care (or even know) that he hired Fabrizio? Answer: No." (On a related note: ditching another talking point — the pretense of a "self-funding" campaign — was also smart; Trump basically gave up a line in his stump speech, and got a billion dollars for it. That's...not a bad trade.) (Note:  Please click on the image above for an indictment of the Interview) 3. Making nice with Megyn Kelly. "The interview was largely easy on Trump — it was no interview with Sean Hannity, but what is? — and he came out looking none the worse for wear. Plus, he was able to show the world how magnanimous he is, how he never holds grudges and how he can make up with anyone. Win, win, win." 4. Rolling out a list of potential Supreme Court picks. "Trump made no secret of his goal with the list: to put 11 names on it that would be totally unimpeachable in the eyes of conservative activists. Look at the kind of judges I would put on the Supreme Court, Trump is saying to doubting conservatives. And imagine the kind of judges Hillary Clinton would pick. See?" 5. Making clear there are no boundaries in your planned attacks against Hillary Clinton. "Trump's willingness to suggest that Bill Clinton had raped Juanita Broaddrick in his Wednesdaynight interview with Hannity is only the latest signal he is sending to Republicans that he considers absolutely nothing off limits when it comes to drawing a contrast with Hillary Clinton in the fall campaign. ...It is literally impossible to be 'too nasty' to Hillary Clinton (and Bill Clinton) in the eyes of the Republican base. The more Trump amps up his rhetoric toward the former first couple, the more loyalty (and unity) he engenders from a party base badly in need of a rallying force." Paul Manafort, cementing his place in Trumpworld. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson In another reminder of the Trump campaign's general election makeover, delegate guru Paul Manafort was given a new titleThursday: campaign chairman and chief strategist. The veteran GOP strategist "will continue to help the campaign prepare for the Republican convention in July but he will primarily focus on gearing up the general election, according to campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks,"reported Jenna Johnson. "Trump's longtime campaign manager, CoreyLewandowski, will continue in that role and continue to oversee many day-to-day campaign operations. Hicks said the title change "should be seen as 'putting permanence' toManafort's role in the campaign now that Trump is the likely nominee and there is slim chance of a contested GOP convention in July. She said thatManafort and Lewandowski will continue to have their own sets of responsibilities. "Manafort joined the campaign in late March at a time when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) was aggressively targeting delegates and the party seemed headed toward a contested convention. Ever since then, Manafort andLewandowski have seemed to wrestle for control of the campaign and for Trump's attention. Lewandowski operates under a policy of 'let Trump be Trump,' while Manafort has seemed to push the candidate to exercise more discipline on the campaign trail. "When asked if Manafort's apparent promotion means Lewandowski is losing power in the campaign, Hicks replied: 'They're very much working together.'" DUELING DEMS UPDATE: It's ending. But not soon. (Ryan Kang/The Register-Guard via AP) This is also just as depressing as underscored by Jeff Immelt and reported by Fortune: FOLLOW SUBSCRIBE SHARE May 21, 2016 Saturday Morning Post: The Weekly View from Washington General Electric isn't waiting for the November election to render a verdict on globalization. With strong protectionist headwinds blowing at home and abroad, the industrial giant is making what CEO Jeff Immelt calls a "bold pivot" to localize operations within its world-spanning footprint. So while the company used to produce locomotives in one only one spot, for example, it now does so at multiple sites, in part to preserve market access and ensure it can weather the anti-trade tide. Immelt described the strategy Friday afternoon in a commencement address to New York University's Stern School of Business, telling graduates they are entering the most volatile and uncertain global economy he's ever seen. As a political commentary, what's striking about Immelt's address is that he appears to be taking the new rash of protectionist rhetoric at face value. Some very recent history might suggest that's a mistake. Recall that the last time Hillary Clinton ran for president, in 2008, she scrapped with Barack Obama over who'd make the toughest opponent of freer trade. But once in office, they worked together to craft the Trans Pacific Partnership, which Clinton belatedly disowned after she became a candidate again. The difference this season — as Immelt noted in his speech, without naming names — is that the presumptive nominees of both parties now agree on the issue. Donald Trump has made his hostility to past trade pacts a keystone of his candidacy, pledging to confront our trading partners and declaring just this week, "Who the hell cares about a trade war?" Immelt knows Trump is drafting off of a deeper populist animus already convulsing the conservative movement. Last fall, when Congressional Republicans blocked the renewal of the Export-Import Bank, GE blamed the impasse for its decision to move 400 U.S. jobs to France. "Unlike the U.S., most countries are increasing their export financing," Immelt said Friday. "So we will export turbines to Asia and the Middle East, made in France supported by French financing." That flexibility, he suggested, needs to be a corporate hallmark for an era in which American-led global integration is no longer assured. Tory Newmyer @torynewmyer tory_newmyer@fortune.com I was at the Bernie Sandes event in Irvine--10,000 people showing up at a Bernie Sanders event in the heart of Orange County is quite an accomplishment.  I could not get over a conversation I had with a lady at the event who was there with her Son.   Her first husband (the father of his Son) was killed in Vietnam on Memorial Day after having been wounded during the Tet Offensive.     As I was witness to the waves of people coming in to the Irvine Amphitheatre (which will be relegated to the dustbins of history),   this preview of what is to come was laid out in as stark a terms as ever: If Trump came to power, there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over. https://t.co/w281TZLFnM — Adam Gopnik (@adamgopnik) May 22, 2016 Truly challenging times as we embark upon a new week.....

On the Dawn of a New Week.....

It has been quite a weekend.    It began yesterday with a day of service at the @Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County with friends, worked at a Food Pantry and ended the night  with friends as I joined the Aliso Niguel High School's 2016 Prom--As someone who did not make his own prom, it was such a joy to see the kids having so much fun.


As a new week looms, I wanted to share this admonition from the Great Audrey Hepburn (that I also released to my personal Facebook wall) that holds ever so true here and now: 

“Nothing is more important than empathy
for another human being’s suffering.
Nothing.
Not a career, not wealth,
not intelligence, certainly not status.
We have to feel for one another
if we’re going to survive with dignity.”
~ Audrey Hepburn

 

As I have been doing some work today, I got myself an interesting milestone which was surprising to say the least as I wish all a fabulous week: 

http://mpouraryan.tumblr.com/post/144767042203/250-posts