Preparation is the Mark of the Greatest Leaders

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Tuesday September 27, 2016 · 10:20 AM PDT

2016/09/27 · 10:20

Preparation is the mark of the greatest leaders.

Military leaders prepare. They run simulations, game scenarios, and rehearse responses for each situation, creating standing orders for ease of distribution and further preparation by troops.

Warriors prepare. They spar against people with different weapons, different techniques, devising and practicing countermoves until they develop muscle memory and reflex.

Pilots prepare. They practice aborted landings, stalls, engine failures, and every other emergency until they know what to do without thinking so they can focus on flying the airplane.

Emergency workers prepare. They too run simulations and drills and rehearse responses for each situation, getting themselves and those they protect ready.

Presidents prepare. They get extensive briefings, establish clear chains of command, have alternate communications channels, and meet frequently with top advisors to predict and plan for possible futures.

Successful people, particularly those with others' lives at stake, prepare, so that when a crisis does occur, they can respond thoughtfully as quickly as someone else could react without thinking, not only to the first event but subsequent ones.

Sec. Clinton prepared for the first debate. Donald Trump did not. She responded. He reacted. She showed she knows and does what military leaders, warriors, pilots, emergency workers and presidents must do to fulfill their responsibilities. He did not, and does not.

(Fixed) Romney Defames Teachers at NBC News Education Event

ProfJonathan

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Tuesday September 25, 2012 · 9:20 AM PDT

2012/09/25 · 09:20

NOTE: CORRECTED ORIGINAL DIARY WHICH ERRONEOUSLY HAD ROMNEY GIVING THESE REMARKS AT THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE

During his presentation today at an NBC News Education forum in New York City, Mitt Romney repeatedly declared his belief that teachers' unions do not care about students or education, that those aren't "teachers' interests." In order to "prove" his case, he evoked (and mis-attributed) a right-wing canard about a speech by a senior teachers' union official, further demonstrating his contempt for educators.

ProfJonathan

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Thursday September 15, 2011 · 11:54 AM PDT

2011/09/15 · 11:54

Many here on DKos repeatedly accuse the Israeli government of carrying out a program of ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs, an accusation that flies in the face of the facts of Israel's Arab population and the actions of the Israeli government in its occupied territories. Now, though, a senior government leader has in fact called for ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. It's not, however, an Israeli leader, but the Palestinian Ambassador to the United States.

ProfJonathan

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Thursday January 27, 2011 · 9:24 AM PST

2011/01/27 · 09:24

As someone who supports the existence of Israel as a strong Jewish state, and the rights of Palestinians (and all people) to live in peace with full citizenship rights, I have read with interest both the news coverage of the so-called "Palestine Papers," and the resulting diaries here on DKos. One area of controversy is why, assuming the PA's territory-for-peace offer was as described, Israel turned it down so summarily. I've seen the explanations offered by some here, involving Israel's alleged colonialism and unwillingness to negotiate, but those reactions in fact demonstrate the likely true reason: Israel knew the PA could never follow through on its offer.

ProfJonathan

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Sunday January 16, 2011 · 7:26 AM PST

2011/01/16 · 07:26

My good friend, who happens to be quite politically conservative, asked me last night if I thought Palin and her ilk caused last week's Arizona tragedy. I said no, because Loughner was clearly mentally ill. My friend then claimed last evening violent rhetoric is not mainly the province of the right, but comes equally from both sides. He cited, as his example, a remark that President Obama had made about "bringing a gun to a knife fight." In response, I told him that while the facts showed otherwise, and he quite reasonably offered to consider those facts if I presented them to him. This morning, I wrote him the following e-mail, which I thought might be valuable for others in this community faced with the same question from potentially reasonable conservative friends and family members. (I've left the URLs in the text, in case some of you would wish to copy and paste parts of it.)

ProfJonathan

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Tuesday January 11, 2011 · 3:30 PM PST

2011/01/11 · 15:30

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy in Arizona, many quite legitimately called out Sarah Palin and so many others on the right whose violent anti-Democratic rhetoric seemed likely to have inspired the shooting. As more information has been released, it seems more probable that the shooter was driven by mental illness rather than (mainly) politics, and GOPers have pushed back at the initial placing of blame.

I'm willing to accept, for the purpose of argument, that Loughner may not have directly inspired by Palin and her ilk. Fine. My question is, to what will Loughner inspire the Republicans? Assuming they weren't responsible for the tragedy, will they be act responsibly now?

ProfJonathan

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Monday December 13, 2010 · 1:54 PM PST

2010/12/13 · 13:54

I don't intend this to be a long diary, in part because it's not a particularly long (or new) story: once again, the United Nations has proven itself to be completely unfit to act as a remotely neutral arbitrator of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The latest evidence: the profoundly anti-Israel actions by the U.N. General Assembly on December 10th.

ProfJonathan

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Wednesday December 08, 2010 · 9:35 AM PST

2010/12/08 · 09:35

Regardless of what happens in Congress, regardless of the long-term deficit issues, regardless even of the potential political victory for the Republicans, I continue to support the general structure of President Obama's proposed deal, because it provided for 13 more months of unemployment payments for 2 million Americans and their families. To those of you don't see that as reason enough, I remind you of the Native American proverb, "Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins." Allow me to lend you mine.

ProfJonathan

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Tuesday December 07, 2010 · 12:33 PM PST

2010/12/07 · 12:33

I just finished watching the President's press conference (thank you, CSPAN online), and all I can say is, "well said." It was strong, and regardless of what some may say, the blame was properly placed on the Senate Republicans, who were accurately described as hostage-takers.

ProfJonathan

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Friday November 12, 2010 · 11:44 AM PST

2010/11/12 · 11:44

This is going to be a very short and simple diary, with one plea: stop buying into the latest pro-Republican terminology meme. We should not be debating the "Bush Tax Cuts." Let's call them what they are: the Republican Tax Hike.

ProfJonathan

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Thursday November 04, 2010 · 9:07 AM PDT

2010/11/04 · 09:07

The election is over, we have another month or so of the lame duck session of Congress, and it's already crystal clear that the "party of no" gridlock we saw from Republicans is only going to get worse, not better, in the next two years. Right now, today, the Senate needs to change its rules to fix the filibuster. We should be filibustering ourselves to make that happen.

ProfJonathan

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 28, 2010 · 2:18 PM PDT

2010/10/28 · 14:18

As many news sources are reporting, Sarah "The Quitternator" Palin has generously offered her services as the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012 "if there is nobody else to do it." Once again, the grizzly Mama puts her country first.

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Preparation is the Mark of the Greatest Leaders

(Fixed) Romney Defames Teachers at NBC News Education Event

Government Official Calls for Ethnic Cleansing on the West Bank

The Palestine Papers: A Possible Explanation

Letter to a Conservative Friend on Violent Rhetoric

Even if the Right Wasn't Responsible, Will It Act Responsibly Now?

U.N. Again Proves Itself Unfit as a Neutral I/P Arbiter

The Moccasin Mile: My Year of Unemployment

Obama Was Right: Save the Hostages, Then Catch the Criminals

Republican Tax Hike, Not Bush Tax Cuts

Filibuster to Fix the Filibuster!

The Self-Sacrifice of Sarah Palin