Cultural

The WORST of All Stupid Strategies!

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

This is a dire warning. "Anti-federalism," which, despite the way it sounds, means that the federal government should run everything in a crisis, is the most foolish idea to come out of the lessons of Katrina. 9/11 created a lot of wasted time and money in this direction, but Katrina has made it worse. Someone must sound an alarm.

The Connection Between Morality and Safety

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

Because the principles of strategy work in chaotic rather than controlled environments, the science only increases your probability of success. The outcome of a given situation is never certain. Better strategies are more often successful, but nothing works every time. Strategy principles list the actions that yield the best results in a given situation over time.

The Ultimate Abdication of Personal Responsibility

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

Sun Tzu's strategy is about taking responsibility for your position. No one can do this for you. On Meet the Press this morning (full script here), I saw the most amazing example of what has gone wrong with America in terms of people taking personal responsibility. Russert in soliciting interviews to attack the federal government and absolve local officials, was interviewing Jefferson Parish president, Aaron Broussard. The long interview was one long ramble about how the federal government should have taken better care of his people.

New Orlean's Hurricane Plan

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

Instapundit posted this link to the city of New Orleans' Hurricane Plan, and because I am interested in what people call "planning," I took the time to read it for any strategic insight. Filter out all the bureaucratic talk about meetings, training, notices, and channels of authority, and there is surprisingly little here, but what is here is interesting. In a case of a hurricane like this, the city was responsible for 1) warning people of an evacuation, 2) organizing evacuation, and 3) sheltering people.

The Climate and What Humans Can Control

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

As we see the damage from Katrina on television, it seems most appropriate to discuss Sun Tzu's concept of climate, especially since misconceptions about climate dominate today's news. People are literally losing their lives today because contemporary society has forgotten what the climate really is and how it affects our lives.

The Optimistic View of the New Orleans Tragedy

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

First things first, everyone should be making a donation to the many fine charities who are going to be working to help the people in New Orleans over the coming months. My personal favorite is the Salvation Army who spends money much more effectively than other, better known organizations such as the Red Cross, which tend to be fairly bureacratic. (My mother was an Army nurse who developed a very negative opinion of the Red Cross working with them overseas).

In the Terror War, Clear Philosophy Equals Strong Positions

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

Iran has a clear philosophy behind their war against America and the rest of the world. Can the same be said about the rest of the world's philosophy for defending itself? The time to deal with Iran is now, before they get nuclear weapons and before they develop a following in the Middle East. As a non-Arab nation, Iran has always been an outsider in the region, but good strategy on their part could change that.

Is the Increasing Cost of Regulation a Future Political Issue?

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

The positions of the political parties on government regulation of the private sector once seemed clear. Democrats were for it and Republicans were against it. Clinton tried to change that perception by reforming welfare, but the increased pace of government regulation under Bush has really opened this issue up for the anti-Republican forces. According to this article by Susan Dudley:
Since 2000, the regulators' budget has grown an amazing 46 percent, after adjusting for inflation.

The Weakness of the President's Response to the Grieving Mother

Submitted by GaryGagliardi on

In my last post, I describe a workable position to take against the media's use of Cindy Sheehan to promote their views on the war. The Beltway Boys just played President Bush's response to Cindy Sheehan. Here is my criticism of the strategic weaknesses in his response. His points were:

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Cultural