January 9, 2026
One of the most surprising statistics from the 2024 presidential election was the surge of support President Trump received from Gen Z voters.
Trump Administration Policies 2025
December 19, 2025
One of the things I try to do at the end of the year is look back, take stock, and actually make a plan for the coming year.
December 12, 2025
Years ago, as our kids began to get older, my sister and I did away with giving Christmas presents to each other, our spouses, and each other’s kids.
November 14, 2025
It’s weird how the mind works. Earlier this week, as I attended a home dedication for a post-9/11 veteran, while sitting outside in wind chill temperatures in the 20s, Cicero’s On Duties, a book I last read as a philosophy major, came to mind.
September 19, 2025
Among others, September is National Coupon, National Preparedness, and National Library Card Sign-Up Month…
September 19, 2025 Read More »
September 12, 2025
Earlier this week, my thought was to write about turning 60, what that means in Japanese culture, relate my celebration of Kanreki to French historian Fernand Braudel’s three cycles of history (day-to-day events; paradigm shifts; and longue durée), and finally link those cycles to current political and public policy trends. However, the aftershocks ripping across political Washington of Turning Point USA founder and conservative star Charlie Kirk’s assassination are just too big to ignore.
September 12, 2025 Read More »
September 5, 2025
Yesterday, after breakfast, my wife said to me, “Don’t throw those bags out…I need those bags to put my bags in.”
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.
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.