August 15, 2025
In his autobiography, when discussing how “figures often beguile” him, Mark Twain popularized the phrase “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.”
Politics
August 8, 2025
Thought of the Week As I mentioned last week, Congress is currently on its month-long August recess; coincidentally, yesterday marked the 200th day of Donald Trump’s presidency. Rather than focusing on putting out daily policy-related fires, Congressional recesses typically allow government affairs types time to sit back and contemplate some of the grander questions we
August 1, 2025
Last week, I was able to escape the swamp-like conditions of Washington, D.C., and trade them for the near perdition-like temperatures of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. There, I visited our Steel Summit subsidiary and made my way to Nashville for The Conference Board’s quarterly Government Relations Executive Council meeting.
July 18, 2025
Each morning, I receive an email that consolidates links to all of President Trump’s social media posts over the past 24 hours.
July 11, 2025
Questions come in all shapes and forms. Close-ended questions can be answered yes-no or true-false; open-ended questions call for the provision of multiple details; and leading questions guide the listener to provide a specific answer
July 3, 2025
In March 1992, then presidential candidate Bill Clinton famously told an activist who was heckling him at a rally, “I feel your pain.” Later in the campaign, the Arkansas Governor was able to project that sentiment to a nationwide audience during a presidential town hall debate.
June 20, 2025
When I first joined SCOA years ago, there was an orientation program that included an introduction to Japanese culture and a starter series on Japanese business terminology. I credit those early lessons with teaching me how to deliver my business card in Japanese and providing me with insight into the very different ways Americans and Japanese approach the world around them.
June 13, 2025
This week, D.C. felt like D.C. Not the D.C. of the last five years, but the D.C. BC (before Covid). My metro rides to and from work were crowded; there was a line at Subway for my Wednesday guilty pleasure—the Meatball Marinara “Meal of the Day;” and downtown happy hours on outdoor patios spilled into the sidewalks.
June 6, 2025
I live in Maryland’s 8th congressional district; my condo sits less than 12 miles from the White House, and the district rests almost entirely within Montgomery County.
May 30, 2025
Memorial Day is a time for deep reflection. My father was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, Congress recognizes the holiday with a weeklong recess, and even President Trump slow rolled his schedule for the better part of this week.