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.
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.
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.
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.
What do Ted Williams, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky all have in common? That they were the greatest players of all time in baseball, basketball, and hockey, respectively? A good guess, but another answer might be that each was also a terrible head coach or general manager.
My wife and I just returned from a vacation to the British Virgin Islands (BVI). There we sailed the islands Christopher Columbus “discovered” during his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.
There is the seen and the unseen. In Washington, Congress can quite literally be seen in action when it is in session. But when it’s in recess, like it has been for the past two weeks, Capitol Hill is somewhat of a ghost town. In economics one can also find the seen and the unseen
It’s spring break in Washington. Climb Capitol Hill, ride the Metro, or visit the National Mall, and you’re bound to see packs of teenagers in identical t-shirts roving the cityscape.
Last year, during the Christmas holiday, I purchased each member of my immediate family one of those Page-a-Day Calendars that I thought matched their personality. Among others, I bought calendars on Zen, Dad Jokes, Sports Trivia, Cats, and Crossword Puzzles. If I would have bought one that included a Word-of-the-Day, there is no doubt that “tariff” would have popped up this week.
Earlier this week, sitting in an introductory pitch meeting with one of Washington’s leading public policy consulting firms, discussing the first 45 days of the second Trump administration, one word jumped out at me. I actually circled it in my notepad…”schizophrenic.” Whoa…