vernon holgate

My wife was the architect for one of those schools! 🏫 🥰

Richard Nixon on what makes a great president (1982 CNN Crossfire interview): Nixon offers a striking framework for evaluating political talent, starting with a comparison of the Kennedy brothers: "Edward Kennedy was the best politician of the three; he is gregarious, loves it, and is warm." John Kennedy, by contrast, was "actually quite a shy and private person, though he performed the public duties of a politician very well." And Bobby? Nixon compares him to "a 17th-century Jesuit priest: passionate, intelligent, and someone who broke no opposition." But Nixon's real insight comes when he names the three greatest political operators of the 20th century: Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. In his view, "no other presidents were in their league as political operators." Then he reveals what he actually looks for in a president: "I don't want a president who is warm on both the outside and inside; I want one who is warm on the outside but cold and tough when making difficult decisions without fear of failure." Nixon then turns to the role of those serving the president, recounting a conversation with General Beetle Smith, widely regarded as perhaps the greatest chief of staff of World War II, and later Nixon's neighbor. Smith once told him in tears that he was just "Ike's Pratt boy," and told Nixon that was what he was as well, serving under Eisenhower. Nixon's response reveals his philosophy of service: "This did not bother me because it was my job. A vice president or cabinet member should consider themselves dispensable and do what the president wants to carry out policy. Otherwise, the president would have to 'get down there in the ring' himself." His reasoning was pragmatic to the point of self-effacement: "While what happened to me personally might not matter to the country, what happened to the president could be disastrous."

Today, Vladimir Putin returned the name of Felix Dzerzhinsky to the FSB Academy, for his “outstanding contribution to ensuring state security.” Dzerzhinsky was the first head of Bolshevik’s secret police in 1918-1926 and the architect of the Red Terror. The academy’s predecessor, Higher School of KGB, bore his name in 1962-1992 (Putin attended it in the 1970s)

Ooooo look at this! This is something new! The “Cicero Institute,” I am cautiously optimistic, they have some sensible things to say about homelessness…

And what's different now is that the oppo is shockingly united, led by a pretty charismatic figure, and one who *defected* from the ruling party. All of that makes for an unusually strong challenge that in an electoral moment of opportunity can make up the difference.

Author and historian Timothy Snyder warns of the possibility of a false flag attack in the US to turn around attitudes towards suspected war crimes in Iran

Trump this a.m.

Hegseth has now fired the CJCS, CNO, CGC, Air Force CoS and Vice CoS, Head NSA, and Head DIA