Podcast appearances and mentions of Colin Powell

September 30, 2026After more than two decades, the deaths of countless Iraqi civilians and more than 4,500 US troops, the wounding of more than 30,000 US military personnel, and a cost of more than $2.8 trillion, the US has pulled out the last of its forces from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, A small contingent of advisors had remained after the US and Iraq agreed to a withdrawal plan in 2024, At that time, Iran seemed to be on the ropes, but Trump's war on Iran has strengthened the country's hand in the region, The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was based on the belief that Iraq's Saddam Hussein was destabilizing the Middle East, Although Saddam had not been involved in the 9/11 attack, officials from the George W Bush administration pushed the idea that the terrorists were affiliated with Iraq, The administration warned that Saddam Hussein was amassing weapons of mass destruction and when Secretary of State Colin Powell warned in a speech at the UN that Iraq had chemical WMDs and the resources to create nuclear weapons, people were convinced it was true. Later the evidence was discredited, but enough countries backed an invasion that in March 2003 American troops invaded with the intention of overthrowing the government, Saddam's forces crumbled and by May the US had set up a transitional government and Bush had declared “Mission Accomplished,” But it wasn't, Now the United States is entering the eighth month of a war on Iran that Trump apparently began with the same cowboy mentality as Bush carried into the war in Iraq, And Pete Hegseth is celebrating his transformation of the military and its “patriotic cowboys.” To read this letter, click here:Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyYou can also find Heather at:YouTubeBlueskyInstagramFacebookThreadsTikTok Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

Listen/Watch the FULL EPISODE ad-free/early on Substack: https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson held a position in government Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff. He talks the Trump Administration attempting to nationalize religion,  Iran conflict, Russia/Ukraine, Cuba, Greenland, and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!!    Follow Me X- https://x.com/CoffeeandaMike IG- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-and-a-mike/id1436799008 Gab- https://gab.com/CoffeeandaMike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com   Support My Work Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/coffeeandamike Paypal- https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/Coffeeandamike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Patreon- http://patreon.com/coffeeandamike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Cash App- https://cash.app/$coffeeandamike Buy Me a Coffee- https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeandamike Bitcoin- coffeeandamike@strike.me   Mail Check or Money Order- Coffee and a Mike LLC P.O. Box 25383 Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998   Sponsors Vaulted/Precious Metals- https://vaulted.blbvux.net/coffeeandamike McAlvany Precious Metals- https://mcalvany.com/coffeeandamike/

In this episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of the Center for Strong Public Schools and Prof. Albert Cheng of The Ohio State University speak with Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and former mayor of Worcester and lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Murray reflects on his Worcester upbringing, public-school education, and path from local leadership to statewide office. He discusses Worcester's industrial legacy and the partnerships that helped make vocational-technical education a centerpiece of the city's economic renewal. He explores how Massachusetts voc-tech schools used standards, accountability, and school choice to strengthen both academic and occupational outcomes. Murray also notes Worcester Technical High School's national recognition from President Barack Obama, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Gen. Colin Powell. He reflects on Dr. Sheila Harrity's leadership and the collaboration among business, labor, higher education, and government that helped drive the school's success. Finally, he addresses the growing demand for voc-tech programs, their role in expanding opportunity for students, and the policy choices needed to strengthen urban vocational education nationwide.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode,  we examine the shadow that had loomed, all of 1995, over the Republican 1996 Presidential Campaign. The potential that the charismatic and popular Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell , was about to announce he was going to run for President. He was a towering figure in the minds of the American People having just run and won the Gulf War convincingly. He embarked on a book tour for his book "My American Journey" and it was a major national best seller. He seemed poised to take the Presidential Primary field by storm. However, what was also true was that Powell never seemed to really want the job nor the political life that came with it. In this episode that is captured as well , plus we get a real sense of all the things coming together at once for Senator Bob Dole as he tries to combat those already on the trail, run the U.S. Senate, fight back against the agenda of President Bill Clinton, and deal with the looming presence of the retired General that would have provided yet one more mountain for him to climb on the way to the nomination in 1996.  Questions or comments at  , Randalrgw1@aol.com ,  https://twitter.com/randal_wallace   , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Send us Fan MailIn this epsode, we brace for the announcemnet along with the resat of the Republoican field for President. Colin Powell has his press conference to announce his decision about seeking the Presidency. That decision was NO, he would not. Instantly, the field was relived and set for the coming Presidential Primaries. We let you hear the collective sigh of relief from every candidate running. Then we listen to recollections about and the memorializing of Colin Powell, who died just before we began our series in 2020. Due to that we never did a show looking back on the life of the General, so we end this episode honoring his extraordinary life and overall contribution to the nation.  Questions or comments at  , Randalrgw1@aol.com ,  https://twitter.com/randal_wallace   , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

When powerful states go to war, why do they bother asking permission? In Strategies for Approval: Building Support for Military Intervention at the UN Security Council (Yale University Press, 2025), Stefano Recchia argues that the answer reveals something surprising about how power actually works. Drawing on hundreds of declassified documents and more than fifty interviews with senior diplomats, among them Andrei Kozyrev, Brent Scowcroft, and Colin Powell, Recchia shows that money and muscle are rarely enough to move a reluctant Security Council. States that succeed also reassure: they accept time limits, geographic restrictions, and multilateral oversight written directly into the resolutions they seek.Our conversation traces that logic through France's controversial 1994 intervention in Rwanda, the six-week "pause for peace" the United States conceded to Gorbachev and Mitterrand before the First Gulf War, and the very different failure of 2003. Recchia also discusses what his interviews revealed about the real aims behind the 2011 intervention in Libya.The more powerful a state becomes, this book shows, the more its power frightens others, and the more it must bind itself to get anything done. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When powerful states go to war, why do they bother asking permission? In Strategies for Approval: Building Support for Military Intervention at the UN Security Council (Yale University Press, 2025), Stefano Recchia argues that the answer reveals something surprising about how power actually works. Drawing on hundreds of declassified documents and more than fifty interviews with senior diplomats, among them Andrei Kozyrev, Brent Scowcroft, and Colin Powell, Recchia shows that money and muscle are rarely enough to move a reluctant Security Council. States that succeed also reassure: they accept time limits, geographic restrictions, and multilateral oversight written directly into the resolutions they seek.Our conversation traces that logic through France's controversial 1994 intervention in Rwanda, the six-week "pause for peace" the United States conceded to Gorbachev and Mitterrand before the First Gulf War, and the very different failure of 2003. Recchia also discusses what his interviews revealed about the real aims behind the 2011 intervention in Libya.The more powerful a state becomes, this book shows, the more its power frightens others, and the more it must bind itself to get anything done. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When powerful states go to war, why do they bother asking permission? In Strategies for Approval: Building Support for Military Intervention at the UN Security Council (Yale University Press, 2025), Stefano Recchia argues that the answer reveals something surprising about how power actually works. Drawing on hundreds of declassified documents and more than fifty interviews with senior diplomats, among them Andrei Kozyrev, Brent Scowcroft, and Colin Powell, Recchia shows that money and muscle are rarely enough to move a reluctant Security Council. States that succeed also reassure: they accept time limits, geographic restrictions, and multilateral oversight written directly into the resolutions they seek.Our conversation traces that logic through France's controversial 1994 intervention in Rwanda, the six-week "pause for peace" the United States conceded to Gorbachev and Mitterrand before the First Gulf War, and the very different failure of 2003. Recchia also discusses what his interviews revealed about the real aims behind the 2011 intervention in Libya.The more powerful a state becomes, this book shows, the more its power frightens others, and the more it must bind itself to get anything done. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When powerful states go to war, why do they bother asking permission? In Strategies for Approval: Building Support for Military Intervention at the UN Security Council (Yale University Press, 2025), Stefano Recchia argues that the answer reveals something surprising about how power actually works. Drawing on hundreds of declassified documents and more than fifty interviews with senior diplomats, among them Andrei Kozyrev, Brent Scowcroft, and Colin Powell, Recchia shows that money and muscle are rarely enough to move a reluctant Security Council. States that succeed also reassure: they accept time limits, geographic restrictions, and multilateral oversight written directly into the resolutions they seek.Our conversation traces that logic through France's controversial 1994 intervention in Rwanda, the six-week "pause for peace" the United States conceded to Gorbachev and Mitterrand before the First Gulf War, and the very different failure of 2003. Recchia also discusses what his interviews revealed about the real aims behind the 2011 intervention in Libya.The more powerful a state becomes, this book shows, the more its power frightens others, and the more it must bind itself to get anything done. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What the hell is happening with U.S. defense technology? Chris Brose, the President and Chief Strategy Officer of defense tech firm Anduril joins us to talk about how private defense companies are innovating and revolutionizing American national security, America's lousy defense acquisition habits, and what we can learn from Ukraine and the war with Iran. The traditional US defense industrial base is slowly cranking out exquisite and outdated weapons. If things don't change, we risk losing a war to China. We discuss the crucial shift towards technological advancement, what the Pentagon and Congress must do, and what this means long term for the safety and security of the American people.Chris Brose is President and Chief Strategy Officer of Anduril Industries, a venture-backed defense technology company. He is the author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare (2020) and formerly senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2014-2018, he was the staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee supporting then Chairman John McCain. From 2009-2014, Mr. Brose served as senior policy advisor to Senator John McCain, and from 2008-2009, he was senior editor of Foreign Policy. From 2005-2008, he served as policy advisor and chief speechwriter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and began his career in government as a speechwriter for Secretary of State Colin Powell, from 2004-2005.Read the transcript here.Subscribe to our Substack here.

In this episode of Faces of the Gulf War, we explore the life of Colin Powell, where he came from, how Vietnam shaped him, and how he became one of the most trusted men in America. For More from the 80s and 90s visit Web: the80sand90s.com    Instagram: @The80sand90sCom  YouTube: The 80s and 90s Overlooked If you enjoy this episode, don't keep it a secret, tell a friend and/or share it on social media so others can experience it as well.   Sources: https://historynet.com/colin-powell-the-vietnam-war-years/ https://time.com/collections/advice-for-2015-grads/3889524/colin-powell-graduation-speech-2015/ https://achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1995/04/23/colin-powell-politics-why-hell-run/12d93dee-ebcf-4fea-a583-36974b7f1b96/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/1995/11/14/other-important-findings-and-analyses-46/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Colin-Powell https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/powell.html https://www.colinpowell.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell  

Content warning: this episode describes the aftermath of 11 September 2001, including torture and civilian deaths.How does a country go from the sympathy of the entire world to invading a nation that had nothing to do with the attack?What does a blank cheque from the UN Security Council actually buy?And if torture only counts as torture when the pain is equivalent to organ failure, what exactly is everything below that line?Peter Frankopan follows the response from NATO's Article 5 to the caves of Tora Bora, while Afua Hirsch — then a trainee human rights barrister — describes what the war on terror did to British law.Within twenty-four hours, NATO invokes Article 5 for the first and only time in its history. Within three days, Congress passes a sixty-word resolution with a single vote against it; it has since been used to justify American military operations in more than twenty countries. Afghanistan is meant to be narrow and quick, and for five weeks it looks like it. Then bin Laden walks over the mountains into Pakistan, Washington's attention swings to a country with no connection to the attacks, and Colin Powell goes to the United Nations holding a small glass vial. Ten years later he is found living a mile from Pakistan's military academy — and by then the war no longer needs him. Part two of three, twenty-five years on.Join Legacy Plus for bonus episodes, early access, Q&A's, fewer adverts and more.legacy.supportingcast.fm[0:00] The scorecard: two invasions, $8 trillion, 900,000 dead, and the Taliban back in Kabul[3:56] Nous sommes tous américains — Le Monde, the Brandenburg Gate, and candles in Tehran[5:39] Article 5, invoked once in NATO's history, to defend America from nineteen men[12:37] Five weeks to Kabul — then a cave complex at Tora Bora, and bin Laden walks away[18:53] "These are facts. They're not statements." Colin Powell at the United Nations[26:32] Afua's first day as a pupil barrister, and a man accused of training the hijackers[33:19] The torture memos: pain that only counts if it's equivalent to organ failure[41:50] A compound in Abbottabad, a mile from Pakistan's military academyStay connected with Legacy:Instagram: @originallegacypodcastTikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas:Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.comJoin Legacy+ for bonus episodes, early access, Q&A's, fewer adverts and more.legacy.supportingcast.fmStay connected with Legacy:Instagram: @originallegacypodcastTikTok: @legacy_productionsExplore more from Peter and Afua — essays, sources, and ideas: Substack: peterfrankopan.substack.com | afuahirsch.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss Colin L. Powell's distinguished career/legacy under the context of the System of Racism White Supremacy.  #colinpowell #blackveterans #buffalosoldiers #producejustice #thecodeistheleader #jamaica #history

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the Pech Valley represents the war in miniature: outposts meant to shield Afghan villages that instead drew the fighting to their doorsteps, built for reasons nobody manning them could explain. Wesley Morgan spent a decade finding out why. Wesley Morgan is the author of The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley, winner of the 2022 Colby Award. He first embedded in the Pech as a college student in 2010 and later covered the Pentagon for Politico. We discuss… How a timber dispute became the Korengal — one Green Beret team refused the bait, the next took it, and Big Taliban followed The three tribes of the war in the east — conventional forces, Green Berets, and the JSOC task force, each fighting its own war in the same valleys Ten thousand beanie babies and record artillery expenditure — how measures of performance swallowed measures of effectiveness Black Hawk Down, Ghost Recon, and the making of multicam — how Crye sold the camouflage of the elite through video games because it couldn't advertise its Delta contract The death of the embed — Rumsfeld overruling Colin Powell, the 2013 shutdown, and why influencers in the briefing r4om beat reporters in the field Whether the Army learned anything at all — disbanding the Asymmetric Warfare Group, rebuilding short-range air defense from zero, and Ukraine as the excuse to never say "Afghanistan" again Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the Pech Valley represents the war in miniature: outposts meant to shield Afghan villages that instead drew the fighting to their doorsteps, built for reasons nobody manning them could explain. Wesley Morgan spent a decade finding out why. Wesley Morgan is the author of The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley, winner of the 2022 Colby Award. He first embedded in the Pech as a college student in 2010 and later covered the Pentagon for Politico. We discuss… How a timber dispute became the Korengal — one Green Beret team refused the bait, the next took it, and Big Taliban followed The three tribes of the war in the east — conventional forces, Green Berets, and the JSOC task force, each fighting its own war in the same valleys Ten thousand beanie babies and record artillery expenditure — how measures of performance swallowed measures of effectiveness Black Hawk Down, Ghost Recon, and the making of multicam — how Crye sold the camouflage of the elite through video games because it couldn't advertise its Delta contract The death of the embed — Rumsfeld overruling Colin Powell, the 2013 shutdown, and why influencers in the briefing r4om beat reporters in the field Whether the Army learned anything at all — disbanding the Asymmetric Warfare Group, rebuilding short-range air defense from zero, and Ukraine as the excuse to never say "Afghanistan" again Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ralph speaks with Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Colin Powell, about the fall of the American Empire and self-proclaimed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. Then we welcome the CEO and co-founder of the Canadian-based organization Corporate Knights, Toby Heap, to break down Trump's unprecedented trade war with our closest ally. Plus, Ralph has some choice words for Hakeem Jeffries and his meeting with Jared Kushner and for Hillary Clinton and her take on the war with Iran.Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Over his 31 years of service, Colonel Wilkerson served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2005, and Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Colonel Wilkerson also served as Deputy Director and Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia, and for fifteen years he was the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network, senior advisor to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and co-founder of the All-Volunteer Force Forum.Two-thirds of the world now thinks that we are an enemy of their state. Two-thirds of the world. And it happens to be the two-third that has the greatest amount of the GDP in the world.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonI've lived for 81 years, almost 82, and I've watched my country go to hell right in front of my face… And the billionaires who want all of this to happen, they do not want a democracy. A democracy is fallible. A democracy can't beat China. A democracy can't beat Russia. A democracy can't even beat Iran. They want a technocracy that is run by them, armed by them, technical revolution by them. They want all of this, and oh by the way they want to live to 150 while they're doing it too.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonEvery freaking hour they create a series of war crimes in Iran. Every freaking hour they perpetrate war crimes in the Persian Gulf. Every freaking hour they perpetrate war crimes in Lebanon with Israel. “What's new?,” I want to say. We are a criminal state. There is no other way to describe it. We are a criminal state. We pay no attention whatsoever to domestic or international law. Only when it benefits the person who is doing the deed do we pay any attention at all.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonToby Heaps is the CEO and co-founder of Corporate Knights, and Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Knights magazine. He spearheaded the first global ranking of the world's 100 most sustainable corporations in 2005, and in 2007 coined the term “clean capitalism.”What we're seeing is a sort of political physics—for every action is an equal and opposite reaction. Canada has in many ways benefited and rallied around our nationhood. We're often not the most boisterous or loudest type of folks. But this continued disrespect for our statehood and the continued attacks and the unreasonableness and the unfair play, our prime minister said something to the effect of: when the United States signs something, it's in pencil. It's really denigrating the United States' reputation globally and in Canadians' minds.Toby HeapsNews 8/28/26* This week, the left-wing insurgency in the Democratic Party scored several new victories. First, NBC reports that in Oklahoma, N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, who Trump selected to lead the Department of Homeland Security following the resignation of Secretary Kristi Noem. Thomas will go up against Republican Congressman Kevin Hern in November. Unfortunately, Thomas stands little chance of winning the state, which has not elected a Democratic Senator since 1990. Thomas is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and identifies as a Democratic Socialist, but is “not yet” a member of DSA.* Next, in California, Democracy Now! reports progressive state lawmaker Aisha Wahab has prevailed in the special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell. This piece notes that Wahab “overcame a flood of attack ads from pro-Israel groups,” which sought to bolster her Democratic primary rival, Melissa Hernandez. In an interview, Wahab said that she “appreciates” voters in her district for “seeing through” the “lies that were spread by AIPAC.” Wahab will make history as the first Afghan American in Congress and has called for the United States to engage with the Taliban government and attempt to “[steer] them in the right direction” on human rights.* In Georgia, the Hill reports another progressive – Everton Blair – won the special election to fill the seat of Congressman David Scott, who passed away in April during his 12th term in the seat. Blair, the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, defeated Scott's daughter Marcye Scott. However, Blair will only represent this seat until the end of the year. Beginning in January, State Rep. Jasmine Clark, who won the May primary, will fill the seat for the 120th Congress.* Meanwhile, in the Cornhusker State, the Nebraska Examiner reports that the “Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin announced he can't put more ‘energy' into the Senate race because of health issues and endorsed nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.” Marvin will remain on the ballot, but is “urging all who supported [him] to now support…Osborn.” This piece notes that this announcement comes on heels of reporting by Flatwater Free Press showing that two staffers from Osborn's 2024 independent Senate campaign joined the Legal Marijuana NOW executive board and sought to dissolve the party from the inside. This, combined with the fact that former Democratic Senate nominee Cindy Burbank paid Mike Marvin's $1,740 candidate filing fee and dropped out of the race one day after the secretary of state verified Osborn's signatures to be on the fall ballot has fueled speculation that these were coordinated efforts to clear the field for Osborn. Marvin for his part disputes this and says he never planned to leave the race. Osborn is quoted saying “We hope to earn the support of the LMN voters and hope that we can represent their concerns well in the US Senate.”* In more third party news, Trump has launched new broadsides against the emerging ex-MAGA clique – consisting of Tucker Carlson, Congressman Thomas Massie, and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to the Hill, Trump attacked the group, said to be exploring the possibility of founding a new right-wing party, calling Carlson “a loser,” Greene “a highly neurotic woman” and Massie a “real JERK” on Truth Social. The president added, “What a team this would be, THREE LOSERS, and a pocketful of change!...The only chance they have is to join the Radical Left Dumocrats, and try breaking into the Primary System. To all of them I say, PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” The proximate cause of this latest flare-up between the camps is Trump's decision to allow in 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported in the next 90 days, a move Massie called “worse than socialism.” Greene, who has been perhaps the most vocal defector from the MAGA camp, said “He attacks us with such vitriol because we actually are everything he claimed to be…he has proven as President that he is nothing more than a neocon puppet for Israel, corporations, big donors with special interests, and his dear friends in the Epstein class…We never changed, Trump did.”* Another story from this side of the aisle comes to us from NOTUS, which reports that an “unknown actor” has stolen over $16,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). This incident, alternatively characterized as a “theft” from a “foreign country” or simply a “fraud,” occurred in early July, when the NRCC “attempted to pay a bill from Ranger Wi-Fi Consulting, a Texas-based firm that specializes in helping clients ‘optimize their wireless networks while ensuring healthy security measures are in place.'” Seeking to assuage the fears of donors, NRCC spokesman Will Kiley told the press that “Protecting donor funds is a top priority for the NRCC,” and vowed that the committee is “working to recover the funds, and…taken steps to ensure it can't happen again.” Listeners might remember that in July, the DNC admitted that they had fallen prey to a scammer, losing almost $30,000 in the process. It would seem that these committees do not have functional safeguards against such schemes.* Our final stories this week all deal with the Middle East. First up, Axios reports that while AIPAC was gearing up for a major ad blitz in Michigan against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and on behalf of Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, those plans have apparently been iced at the behest of the Rogers campaign. According to this story, Rogers believes that AIPAC spending in the Democratic primary – over $30 million on behalf of El-Syed's rival Haley Stevens – actually helped boost El-Sayed's candidacy, making his opposition to AIPAC a “centerpiece of his…campaign, using the group's spending against him to portray Democratic opponent Haley Stevens as beholden to the pro-Israel lobby.” Rogers fears the same fate, so he has sought to keep his distance from AIPAC while his allies are urging AIPAC to “get involved without putting the group's name front and center.” However, Rogers' attempts to put some daylight between his campaign and AIPAC has resulted in the latter turning cold towards the Republican candidate. Republicans now worry that AIPAC will “sit out the general election entirely.” As for the perception of AIPAC in Michigan, a recent poll found that “55% of Michigan voters oppose continued U.S. aid to Israel.”* On the other end of the Michigan political spectrum, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that he “ensure the immediateand permanent release of U.S. citizen Sama Safi, a 20-year-old university student with a severe complex chronic health condition, who the Israeli military has arbitrarily and wrongfully detained since June 2nd.” This letter goes on to describe how “armed Israeli soldiers raided her family's home in the occupied West Bank in the middle of the night and tore her from her family,” and that since then, she has “suffered under appalling conditions in Israeli military detention including “frequent physical assault, shackling, and the throwing of gas and stun grenades into already overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells,” among other horrors. 40 more members of Congress signed this letter, including six senators, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Chris Van Hollen among them. 85 civic groups also signed onto this demand, ranging from faith-based groups to human rights organizations and beyond.* In the region itself, a broad coalition of Muslim states – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and, perhaps most notably, the United Arab Emirates – have issued a categorical condemnation of Israel's new “E1” settlement plan. This plan relates to new settlement activities east of occupied East Jerusalem and the signatories decry the plan as constituting “a dangerous escalation that further advances settlement expansion and annexation and undermines the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory…thereby threatening the viability and realization of an independent, contiguous Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.” The UAE was the most significant state in the region to sign onto the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, which sought to normalize relations between Israel and its neighbors at the expense of the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia was said to be on the verge of signing the accords prior to October 7th and Israel's subsequent genocidal military campaign in Gaza. The UAE taking a new stand against Israel on behalf of the Palestinian cause is widely seen as the final death knell of the Abraham Accords and the beginning of a new era of relations in the Middle East.* Finally, the Economist reports that a group of seven top officials within the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is consolidating power in Iran. The man rumored to be leading this junta is Mohsen Rezaei, the new national-security adviser, former presidential candidate and the longest-serving chief of the IRGC, having led the corps though the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Others include the head of the navy, currently overseeing Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the IRGC's commander-in-chief and founder of the Quds Force. Notably absent from this group is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. This piece judiciously avoids making any definite predictions about whether this new clique will rule as hardliners or pragmatists, but emphasizes that the late Ali Khamenei expertly “balanced the competing interests of his realm” while these military men favor action.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

hirley B. Novack has reinvented herself more than once—or twice. She grew up in a family where girls weren't expected to go to college, worked to put herself through school anyway, entered laboratory science, became a teacher, raised three children, built a decades-long career in interior design, opened a summer candy shop and eventually returned to the dream she'd carried since childhood: writing. At nine years old, a teacher told Shirley never to stop writing because he believed she could become a great writer. She never forgot him. Decades later, during the pandemic, Shirley began writing the story inspired by her father's extraordinary—and often painful—early life. She published her first novel at 75. Our conversation wanders exactly the way a good conversation with a born storyteller sometimes does. We talk about difficult marriages and finding yourself again, why age can bring better boundaries, trying things even when failure is possible, the assumptions society makes about older people—and why Shirley believes another door can always open. There are also detours involving Cyndi Lauper, Colin Powell, the bomb squad at Logan Airport, a suspected terrorist, a cocaine mule and a Porsche. Because apparently one lifetime wasn't enough material for Shirley. In this episode we talk about: reinventing yourself throughout adulthood recognizing your own worth and abilities going back to school later and learning simply because something interests you leaving a difficult marriage refusing to let age decide what you're capable of finally pursuing a childhood dream becoming a published novelist at 75 finding stories—and opportunities—in unexpected places remaining curious about whatever comes next Content note: This conversation includes references to emotional abuse, gambling addiction, sexual violence, human trafficking and a serious medical crisis. Learn more about Shirley and find all her links at The Boomer Woman's Podcast  

The 1981 Kansas City Hyatt skywalk collapse came down to one unchecked decision, and it holds a hard lesson for every construction business owner. In this episode of the Construction Leading Edge podcast, Todd Dawalt shares a decision-making framework of five questions and four tips to train your team to make better calls in the field and in pre-construction. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: HERE

This is part 2 of a 2 part conversation…  In part 2 of a two-part conversation on the Whiskey, Jazz, and Leadership podcast, host Galen Bingham continues with Dr. Willie Jolley, focusing on the role of mentorship in achieving goals, citing mentors such as Les Brown and General Colin Powell and emphasizing seeking counsel to avoid costly mistakes. Jolley recounts how Rosita Perez pushed him to stop giving generic speeches and tell his own story, and he frames courage as moving forward despite fear—especially when he took the risk of breaking into song during speeches and later writing a wealth-focused book outside his usual self-help lane. He explains his “rich vs. wealthy” distinction, introduces five money mindsets culminating in a generational “wealth mindset,” shares a family example of debt reduction and investing. Keep the conversation going inside the Whiskey, Jazz & Leadership VIP Room. For just $4 a month, you'll get video access to every Season 10 conversation, plus exclusive VIP content from every guest since Season 2. Try it free for 7 days and go deeper into the conversations, insights, and perspectives that can help you think differently and make better decisions. Join the VIP Room: Whiskey, Jazz & Leadership VIP Room: https://patreon.com/WhiskeyJazzandLeadership?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

When the next Congress is sworn in, the House of Representatives is projected to have zero Black Republican members—a shift driven by retirements, state race pivots, and primary losses like that of Michigan candidate Amir Hassan. In our latest episode of Trey's Table, we break down what happened in Michigan's 8th District, how primary voters reacted to Hassan's background, and why a political monopoly on any community's vote leaves voters overlooked or taken for granted. We also look back at Gen. Colin Powell's iconic 2008 commentary on why religious bigotry has no place in American democracy.

In this episode of The Hollow Bunny Leadership Podcast, former police chiefs Sylvia Moir and Kristen Ziman explore personal transformation and leadership after stepping away from executive roles, drawing on concepts from Jim Collins, David Brooks, and Colin Powell. They break down a four-part framework for navigating life's major transitions: confronting the Cliff (defining, trajectory-altering life events), navigating the Fog (the uncertain period after a crisis that demands disciplined patience rather than hasty action), tending the Fire (the enduring internal purpose that outlasts any job title), and cultivating Self-Knowledge (continually re-evaluating one's identity across different seasons of life). Ultimately, the hosts highlight that true fulfillment comes from separating your personal worth from your position, using resilience and inner purpose to guide your next chapter.

Listen/Watch the FULL EPISODE ad-free/early on Substack: https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Retired Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson held a position in government Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff. He talks the mess Trump has gotten the United States in, ground troops in Iran, Turkey, Russia/Ukraine, Europe, and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!!    Follow Me X- https://x.com/CoffeeandaMike IG- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-and-a-mike/id1436799008 Gab- https://gab.com/CoffeeandaMike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com   Support My Work Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/coffeeandamike Paypal- https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/Coffeeandamike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Patreon- http://patreon.com/coffeeandamike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Cash App- https://cash.app/$coffeeandamike Buy Me a Coffee- https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeandamike Bitcoin- coffeeandamike@strike.me   Mail Check or Money Order- Coffee and a Mike LLC P.O. Box 25383 Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998

House Homeland Security Committee member Rep. Michael McCaul joins Brian Kilmeade to break down the 10th night of US strikes on Iranian targets, why Russia is actively aiding Iran with targeting data against US troops, and his recent trip to the front lines in Ukraine. McCaul calls for the US military to go "all in" using the Colin Powell doctrine to neutralize the IRGC and empower the Iranian people to overthrow the regime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, Prenuvo MRI scans, and the truth about belly fat Your gut and your face are telling on you. This episode reveals why the fat under your skin might be protecting you while the fat around your organs is quietly wrecking your metabolism, heart, and longevity, and exactly what to do about the difference. Get $300 off your next Prenuvo MRI scan: https://prenuvo.com/?discount=Dave Host Dave Asprey sits down with Dr. Sean O'Mara, a former undercover narcotics agent, criminal prosecutor, emergency medicine physician, and retired U.S. Army Colonel who assisted the White House and Senior Executive Service, treating Vice President Dick Cheney, former President Bill Clinton, and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Today he's recognized as the world's most experienced physician in eliminating visceral fat and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), the inflammatory fat now linked to nearly every major chronic disease and accelerated aging. He founded Influence Medicine, a specialty built around helping senators, heads of state, and top executives optimize their biology so they can perform and lead at the highest level. Dave and Dr. O'Mara break down the real difference between visceral fat and subcutaneous fat, why a visible six-pack might signal hidden disease, and how MRI scans reveal what your mirror never will. They dig into the biohacking strategies that actually shift your body composition: fasting protocols that build beneficial fat instead of burning it away, microbiome optimization for fat metabolism, and the supplements and functional medicine tools Dr. O'Mara uses with his highest-performing clients. They also cover the gut-hormone connection driving modern metabolic dysfunction, why political leaders are quietly getting scanned, and what your face reveals about your visceral fat levels before you ever step on a scale. You'll Learn: The real difference between visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, and why one protects you while the other kills you Why a six-pack might be hiding disease your MRI would catch How a 72-hour fasting protocol can build the good kind of fat through adiponectin signaling What your face reveals about your visceral fat and longevity risk The gut-hormone connection driving testosterone, metabolism, and inflammation Why senators and world leaders are getting scanned for hidden fat How microbiome health, fasting, and functional medicine work together for fat loss and longevity Thank you to our sponsors! - Beyond Wonderland Conference | Oct 13 - 14, 2026. Get your ticket now at wonderlandconference.com. - Suppgrade Labs | Get real restorative sleep with Quiet Mode. Use code DAVE15 at shopsuppgradelabs.com. - Puori | Use code DAVE at puori.com/DAVE to get 32% off your first Puori CP1 Pure Collagen. Order when you start a subscription. You save more than $26 - LMNT | Right now you can get a free 8-count Sample Pack of LMNT's most popular drink mix flavors with any purchase at drinkLMNT.com/dave Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade brings you the knowledge to take control of your biology, extend your longevity, and optimize every system in your body and mind. Each episode delivers cutting-edge insights inhealth, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, biohacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living. New episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (BONUS). Dave asks the questions no one else will and gives you real tools to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient. Keywords: visceral fat vs subcutaneous fat, how to reduce visceral fat, best fat for longevity, MRI body scan benefits, Prenuvo full body scan, what is epicardial fat, skinny fat TOFI explained, why is my six pack unhealthy, 72 hour fasting benefits, fasting and testosterone, how to build subcutaneous fat, biohacking visceral fat, Sean O'Mara doctor, influence medicine, fecal microbiota transplant benefits, gut microbiome and fat loss, Dave Asprey, biohacking, longevity Resources: • Learn More About Dr. O'Mara's Work At: https://drseanomara.com/ • Get $300 Off Your Next Prenuvo MRI Scan: https://prenuvo.com/?discount=Dave • Get My 2026 Clean Nicotine Roadmap | Enroll for free at https://daveasprey.com/2026-clean-nicotine-roadmap/ • Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today. • Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15? • My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off) • Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off) • Dave Asprey's BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com • Dave Asprey's New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated • Join My Substack (Live Access To Podcast Recordings): https://substack.daveasprey.com/ • Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com Timestamps: 00:00 – Trailer 00:58 – Intro 02:38 – Fat Type Basics 04:19 – Reviewing Dave's Scan 08:04 – Good Fat vs. Bad Fat 16:49 – Fertility & Pregnancy 19:47 – Personality & Health 21:51 – Wealth & Health Neglect 30:32 – Insurance Incentives 39:29 – Microbiome & Disease 40:41 – FDA & Fecal Transplants 42:57 – Viome & Biomarker Data 45:40 – Skinny Fat & Appearance 49:44 – Building Subcutaneous Fat 52:57 – Fasting Protocol 58:37 – Closing See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Between August 2, 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and February 28, 1991, when the First Gulf War came to an end, the world watched one of the defining conflicts of the late twentieth century unfold live on television. We remember the images, but how well do we remember the people behind them? Hosted by Milo Denison, Faces of the Gulf War is a limited podcast series exploring the lives of the military leaders, politicians, and dictators who shaped the conflict. Each episode focuses on one person, tracing the events that brought them to the First Gulf War and the decisions they made once they got there. From Norman Schwarzkopf and George H. W. Bush to Margaret Thatcher, Colin Powell, Saddam Hussein, and many others, discover the stories behind the faces that shaped that conflict. Faces of the Gulf War is a limited series presented by The 80s and 90s Uncensored. For More from the 80s and 90s visit Web: the80sand90s.com    Instagram: @The80sand90sCom  YouTube: The 80s and 90s Overlooked If you enjoy this episode, don't keep it a secret, tell a friend and/or share it on social media so others can experience it as well.  

Andrea Liebross was the least-paid person in her own business for years. Then she got deliberate about changing that. In this conversation with host Syama Bunten, Andrea gets into how to pay yourself as a business owner and why so many women wait too long to start. She grew up watching her father run his own CPA firm, where money was a subject reserved for adults. He talked business with clients one way and money with his own kids another, and that gap taught her early that finances could stay private inside a family that talked about everything else. Andrea didn't launch her coaching business until her forties. She left a 1099 role bound by rules she didn't like and bet on herself, funding the leap with a zero-interest credit card and a self-imposed deadline for her first client. That story of starting a business in your 40s runs alongside her belief that identity precedes strategy. Clarity comes from deciding who you are first, not from gathering more information. It took Andrea three years to get deliberate about paying herself a real salary instead of whatever was left over. She walks through how to pay yourself as a business owner in practical terms, why betting on yourself in business rarely feels secure, the Colin Powell 40/70 decision rule, and what she has learned about family owned business finances getting tangled with feelings.   Find a Freedom Tour Salon near you at wealthcatalyst.com/salons/ or join us at the Wealth Catalyst Summit in San Francisco this October at wealthcatalyst.com    Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Andrea Liebross Joins Getting Rich Together 02:53 A Childhood CPA Household and Quarter Collectors 11:37 Dartmouth, Career Purpose, and Money Silence 19:24 Trauma and Grit in New York Advertising 24:20 Tutoring the Bass Family and Marriage Finances 35:28 Moving to Indiana and Asking for Benefits 40:59 Quitting the 1099 Role to Bet on Herself 46:57 Funding a Business Launch on a Credit Card 51:15 How to Pay Yourself as a Business Owner 55:05 Family-Owned Business Finances and Identity Precedes Strategy   Find more from Syama Bunten: Attend a Salon near you: wealthcatalyst.com/salons Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syama.co/ Join Syama's Substack: https://thewealthcatalystwithsyama.substack.com/ Website: https://wealthcatalyst.com Download Syama's Free Resources: https://wealthcatalyst.com/resources Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://wealthcatalyst.com/summits Speaking: https://syamabunten.com Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm  

The year is half over. Are you halfway to your goals, or halfway to another year of almosts? In this episode, Todd DeWalt breaks down why so many construction business owners stay stuck overthinking the decision they already know they need to make, still camped on the wrong side of their own Rubicon, waiting on a little more research and a little more certainty before they move. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: https://go.constructionleadingedge.com/qualification?utm_source=audio%20podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=451

Make Cazarre enchaîné great again de 16h30 à 17h30 en direct du Flora Caffé avec Julien Cazarre & Jean-Christophe Drouet.

What separates a culture of compliance from a culture of commitment, and what does it actually take to build the kind of team where people are truly all in? This week, Jon Goehring and Coach Jim Johnson sit down with General Robert Mixon, retired two star division commander, former aide to General Colin Powell, co-founder of Level Five Associates, and author of The Power of Being All In, for one of the most battle tested and practically useful leadership conversations the Lounge has ever had.General Mixon opens with his origin story, from growing up as the oldest of six kids in Georgia to being recruited to West Point by Army football coaches who showed up in his driveway the night he came home from a game with his ribs taped up, still wearing his gas station uniform. He shares what those early years commanding 178 soldiers on the East West German border taught him about leading through chaos, and why the ability to be the calm in the storm became the cornerstone of everything he has built since.The conversation goes deep into the distinction between a culture of compliance and a culture of commitment, and why most organizations are stuck at one of the five levels of culture without even knowing it. General Mixon walks Jon and Coach through his Big Six principles of adaptive leadership, starting with setting the azimuth, the cardinal direction of your organization, and moving through listening with the intent to understand, trusting and empowering your people, doing the right thing when no one is watching, taking charge with calm rather than control, and balancing your four levels of energy so you have something left to give.One of the sharpest moments of the episode comes when General Mixon talks about the difference between being liked and being respected, and why the finest leaders he has ever known were not people who sought to be liked. He also shares a story about copying someone else's personal leadership philosophy and having a trusted colleague call him out on it, and what that humbling moment taught him about authenticity and credibility.The episode closes with a practical challenge for every listener: build your personal leadership philosophy, sign it, date it, give it to your team, and then audit yourself against it for ten minutes every day. That single habit, General Mixon argues, is one of the most powerful things a leader can do to move their culture from compliance to commitment.Whether you lead a platoon, a company, or a family, this episode will challenge you to stop talking about values and start translating them into specific, observable behaviors that your people can hold you accountable to every day.Connect with General Mixon: levelfiveassociates.comEmail: robert@levelfiveassociates.comDownload chapter one of both books free at levelfiveassociates.comSubstack: robertmixon.substack.com

Colin Powell established a litmus test for military intervention after our disastrous involvement in Vietnam. Samantha Karlin, leadership and foreign affairs expert, dives in to find out if the Iran war passes the test. For media inquiries and leadership training inquiries: samanthaempowerglobal@gmail.com or http://www.youtube.com/samanthropoliticsTo learn leadership from Samantha with a small group of global women leaders, http://www.womensleadershipchallenge.com.

Send us Fan MailSeason Eighteen of our continuing series on the life and career of Bob Dole takes us into one of the most dramatic and consequential years in modern American politics: 1995.At the beginning of the year, Republicans appeared to be at the height of their power. Fresh off the Republican Revolution of 1994, Bob Dole stood as the overwhelming favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, and many believed the White House was within reach.By the end of the year, however, the political landscape had changed dramatically.In this special season preview, we look ahead to the major stories that will define our upcoming episodes, including:• Bob Dole's long-awaited announcement for President of the United States • The tragic Oklahoma City bombing and its political aftermath • The stunning fall of Bob Packwood and its impact on the Senate • The crowded Republican presidential field challenging Dole's path to the nomination • Colin Powell and his brief flirtation with a presidential campaign that captivated the nation • The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the shockwaves it sent through the world and the Middle East peace process • The growing crisis in Bosnia and the difficult decisions facing American leaders • The two federal government shutdowns that would redefine the relationship between Congress and the White HouseAt the center of it all stands Bob Dole — Senate Majority Leader, Republican standard-bearer, and a man attempting to navigate a rapidly changing political environment while pursuing the presidency he had sought for decades.Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton begins one of the most remarkable political recoveries in modern history. Written off by many after the 1994 elections, Clinton would spend 1995 rebuilding his presidency and setting the stage for a comeback that few saw coming.This season is a story of ambition, tragedy, triumph, political warfare, and unexpected turns.A year that changed Washington.A year that reshaped two presidencies.And a year that would determine the course of the 1996 election.Welcome to Season Eighteen.Bob Dole: 1995 — Clinton's Comeback.Questions or comments at  , Randalrgw1@aol.com ,  https://twitter.com/randal_wallace   , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

Wondering how to achieve your goals? Well, achieving goals is quite different than just setting them. So while the first step may be to set the goals you really want, then we have to prioritize our actions from high to low. What is the most important thing that I need to do in order to get there? Because generally, you can come up with a dozen or a hundred different things that you’re going to need to do to achieve your goals. But there’s probably one to three things on there that are going to be more important than the other 97. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, co-host Jay McFarland and I will discuss how to achieve your goals. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: Hey, so glad to be here, David, and once again, I’m looking forward to this discussion. We hear people talk about goals all the time, and I know for me it’s something that I struggle with because what will happen is I’ll set those goals. I really haven’t defined how I’m going to get there, and then when I don’t achieve them, it becomes something that deflates me. So I think for a lot of people, goal setting can work against them. David: I think it can too, because I believe there is a lot of focus on goal setting, and it’s something that we do, particularly at the beginning of a new year. A lot of people focus on their new year resolutions, which are their goals. And while there’s been a lot written about goal setting, the importance of goal setting, writing things down, reviewing it regularly, having your affirmations and things like that. All of those things are certainly helpful, but they don’t actually, directly connect to the idea of how to achieve your goals. And that’s why I wanted to title this the way that I did, because setting your goals has been done to death, but how do you achieve your goals? I think it’s interesting to explore that aspect of this topic. Jay: Well, yeah. And one of the things that frustrates me is, when people talk about goal setting, they tend to assume that everybody’s the same. Oh, just follow this and you’re great. It’s like, I read The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People and what was never mentioned or considered in that was, it was also seven habits for highly organized people already. You had already achieved a level where all you had to do was put these things in place and you’re good. You can achieve your goals. Well, what about me? I wasn’t raised with systems and those kind of things, so what about me? I didn’t feel like there was any place that I could implement that. David: Yeah. And that is very common. I mean, I think everyone probably deals with that because unfortunately, when you’re writing a book that’s going to be on a shelf for a long period of time, you have to include things that are essentially timeless. And The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I mean, it’s such a great book. It’s a very inspirational read. But when you’ve got rules, like “Be Proactive,” that’s a big, broad rule, right? And in many cases you can be proactive, but what does that mean? It gets down to the nitty gritty. We’ve talked in the past about Michael Gerber, the author of The E-Myth. I love that book. The E-Myth, The E-Myth Revisited. I read the original copy a long, long time ago, and I just loved it, because this was all about processes. And that book talked primarily about the fact that you have to have processes. But then what are those processes, right? Because that’s the part that people like you and I need. It’s like, what are the processes? How do I do that? How do I make that happen? And so much of my career has been focused on that. How do I turn this great recommendation, “be proactive,” you know? Jay: Yeah. David: “Work on your business, not just in your business.” How do I take broad statements like that? To some extent, they become platitudes, and how do I turn that into something that is actionable? Because that is the only way you can ever achieve your goals. You have to be able to convert those great ideas into actionable tasks. Jay: Yeah, such a key point. I think for me, what I found is I have to break it down enough to where I can feel that feeling of success instead of failure. Right? So it’s got to be minute enough to where I can say, okay, I did it. I accomplished something. And it could be something very simple. But that motivates me to the next step. I find if they’re too big, then I’m setting myself up for disappointment. David: Absolutely. But I think anyone who reads any sort of self-help material or business material, if you can take what they’re giving you and then just ask yourself right away, “how do I apply this right now to my business?” Again, Seven Habits, “begin with the end in mind.” Jay: Right. David: I mean, you could find that in a fortune cookie, couldn’t you? It’s brilliant advice, but it’s like, oh, hey, yeah, that’s really great. Now, again, in fairness, because it’s an excellent book… Jay: Yes. David: And he goes into a lot of detail about some different ways that you can do that. But in some sense it has to be general. And that’s why, if you’re able to ask yourself that question, “how do I apply this right now?” It’s going to get you a lot closer to being able to achieve your goals. Because now it’s not about concepts, it’s about you: Your activities, your focus, and what your next step is. Jay: Yeah, so let’s get into a little bit more detail. I’ve asked myself, “how do I accomplish this now?” Is that a list you would write down or how would you recommend people proceed from that point? David: Well, yeah, I think what I would generally want to start with is thinking in terms of resources. What are you going to need to achieve your goals? Okay. because once I’ve written down the goal… say my goal is X amount of dollars in sales by the end of the year. My goal is to sell X number of customers by a certain date. Whatever your thing is, now you’ve got the goal. All right. Well, as I said, the goal is kind of the easy part. Now we need to think in terms of, okay, what are the resources? What are you going to need in order to be able to achieve your goal? Can I do it by myself? Am I going to have to hire additional staff? Hopefully you’re not. But you need to know upfront. Because if you don’t take the time to consider the resources that are needed, versus the resources at your disposal, then you won’t even know if you’re taking actions that are not going to allow you to get to your goal. But if you take the time to think upfront, okay, what are the resources I’m going to need? Who am I going to need? Right? It’s not just about the things. It’s also about the people. Am I going to need additional help with this? And if so, what kind of people am I going to need? There’s an excellent book called Who Not How, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Ben Hardy. It talks about the fact that when we’re looking to get things done, a lot of times we think in terms of “how am I going to do this?” When in fact we’re often better served by saying, “who can help me with this, who can help me get this done?” And that goes back to the resources. If you have a clear idea of what you’re going to need and who you’re going to need, then it’s going to be a lot easier to achieve your goals. And then ultimately, how much am I going to need? How much am I going to need in terms of resources, in terms of money, in terms of people, in terms of time? Time is always one of those resources that you need to evaluate upfront, and if you don’t do that, you’re never going to get beyond the fortune cookie aspect of what it is we’re talking about here. Jay: Yeah, you’ve kind of brought up negative emotions with me because it reminds me, I grew up in the restaurant business. And before I became an area manager and a regional manager, I remember my area manager coming in every year and we’d have to set sales goals. And so first of all, it was a complete shot in the dark. It was based upon air. Right? Just how much do you want to increase your sales? And second of all, there was never any instruction on how you’re going to do this. And so, how do you do it as a restaurant? I’m not in control of the marketing budget because it was a chain. So what am I going to do? Nobody ever said, well, you can increase your sales by doing A, B, C, and D. They just came in and set this arbitrary goal, and at the end of the year I was beat up because I didn’t reach that goal. And I’m like, this just becomes a bludgeon that creates disappointment. David: Right, because the focus there is on the what. Jay: Yes. David: What is it that I want to accomplish? Just like we’re talking about with goals. This is the goal. Okay. The goal is established very early on. But then every day, every hour preceding that, you need to ask yourself, am I on track? And that’s going to go back to, first of all, do you have a plan in place? Because if you don’t have a plan to achieve your goals, then it’s not going to happen. But then beyond the plan, do I have the resources? Do I have them in place? Am I firing on all thrusters? Jay: Mm-hmm. David: Are we doing the things that we need to do in order to accomplish it? And then also just adapting, recognizing that, let’s say you establish your goals today, you lay out a plan today, and you’re starting on it tomorrow. Well, as soon as you start it, it’s like that old quote, I don’t know if it was Colin Powell, some military general talked about the fact that “no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” Jay: Yes. David: And it’s the same thing with a goal in business. It’s not going to survive contact with prospects and clients. You set your goal in terms of what you want to reach, but every day you’re going to be taking actions, some of which will work and some of which will not. At which point you need to be able to discern what’s good, what’s bad, what’s working, what’s not, so that you can jettison the stuff that isn’t working, do more of the stuff that is, and ultimately achieve your goals, achieve your objectives. But too often, just like New Year resolutions, we write them down January 1st and we don’t think of them again until December when we realized we’re nowhere close, because we never had the plan in place. We never had the resources in place, and we didn’t take consistent action. Jay: Yeah, absolutely. And back to my own example, when I became an area manager, I resolved not to be that guy who put my managers in that place. And so I identified an action plan of how you can increase your sales. Starts with excellent customer service. Who are you putting on the front lines? How do you handle complaints? How do you assess your customer service? Then it went to quality of product. Are you following guidelines? Are you building the product the way that it should be? Is it consistent? So there was a checklist that they could go through and then they would see the results happen. To me, that was empowering as opposed to deflating. David: Yes. When you empower your employees with the specific steps they need to take in order to accomplish the objectives, that’s exactly what they need. Jay: Yes. David: You know, there’s a difference between lead measures and lag measures. I’m sure you’re familiar with that concept as well. Jay: Mm-hmm. David: And our goals are usually lag measures. I want to be able to get to this amount of sales. But what are the lead measures that are going to make that happen? So when you talk about customer service being a first key, and then breaking that down, what does that mean? If you’re answering a phone, how many rings do you have? Do you have to answer it within three rings or 30 rings? Because that’s going to determine the experience of the customer. You can’t control how the customer’s going to feel, but you can control what you do on the front end to at least help to impact that experience. Jay: Yeah, and we had it as much as, you know, I had a really good employee in the back of the house, but not so good with customers, not a very good communicator. So I’d never put him on that interface with customers. It doesn’t mean he couldn’t help me in other places. So being that specific about each of those goals is so important. David: Yeah, I think so too. And I believe you want to start with setting goals that you really want, that are important to you. Because if you don’t have a really solid, great feeling about it, if you don’t have that driving “why” behind it, I really want this because it’s going to allow me more freedom in terms of my time, or it’s going to allow me to spend more time with my family or do more of the things that I want. If your goals don’t motivate you, then once again, you’re going to forget about them very quickly, or the moment some sort of temptation comes up that’s designed to derail you from your focus. So the first thing is you set the goals you really want, then you prioritize them from high to low. What is the most important thing that I need to do in order to get there? Because generally, you can come up with a dozen or a hundred different things that you’re going to need to do to achieve your goals. But there’s probably one to three things on there that are going to be more important than the other 97. So prioritizing is key. After you’ve set the goals, you got to prioritize what is that list of actions, and then it’s a matter of just focusing on each one. And in a previous podcast, we were talking about declaring independence from business as usual, looking at that and saying, I’ve got to be consistent about implementation because if I’m not, there’s no way it’s going to happen. Jay: Yeah and this last one you mentioned, focusing on getting them done. This is where so many times it falls down. And where if you do have a staff, you can really destroy your credibility. Because again, back to my own experience, company rolls out a new company-wide goal. For three days they’re pounding it and watching it. On day four, and forward? You never hear about it again. That teaches everybody that we just have to stay in line for a couple of days. Then it’s going to disappear. So you’re actually working against yourself at that point. It’s something I resolve to never do. You have to have systems of follow up. You can’t just say, “oh, we’ll follow up.” Have dates, have benchmarks, have things that are built in to help you track where you’re at at all times. David: Right, and just because they stopped talking to you about it after day four doesn’t mean they’re not going to hold you accountable for it. Jay: True. David: They’re still going to hold you accountable for it 362 days later, right? Jay: Mm-hmm. David: They’re going to say, “Hey, we talked about this. Why didn’t you hit it?” It’s like, “oh, are we still doing that? I forgot about that. That was, that was a long time ago.” Jay: Yeah. Absolutely. Again, I love this discussion, David, how can people find out more? David: You can go to TopSecrets.com/call to schedule a call with myself or my team. We love having conversations like this with smart, focused, bright business people who are not just interested, but committed to achieve your goals and get to the next level in your business. If you’re just interested, it’s like, “oh, it’s kind of cool. It’s kind of interesting, maybe.” No, forget it. Because that’s not going to get you there. But if you’re serious, if you listen to these podcasts, particularly if you’ve been listening for a long time, if you haven’t scheduled a call yet, do it today. Now’s the time to do it. TopSecrets.com/call. We’ll have a conversation. You’ll love it or you won’t love it. If we’re five minutes in and you say, this isn’t going anywhere. Perfectly fine with that. It hasn’t happened so far, but it could. So you don’t have to feel like you’re locked into anything. If the call does not have value for you, then we’ll drop it. But if you’re open to the idea that there are better ways of doing things that will allow you to achieve your goals and generate more sales in less time, then schedule a call. Jay: Yeah, set a goal to call right now and then follow up on your goal. David: Execute, right? Jay: That’s right. Thanks David. David: Thank you, Jay. Are You Ready to Achieve Your Goals? If so, check out the five primary ways we help promotional product distributors grow: Just Getting Started? If you (or someone on your team) is just getting started in promotional products sales, learn how we can help. Need Clients Now? If you're already grounded in the essentials of promotional product sales and just need to get clients now, click here. Want EQP/Preferential Pricing? Are you an established industry veteran doing a significant volume of sales? If so, click here to get End Quantity Pricing from many of the top supplier lines in the promo industry. Time to Hire Salespeople? If you want to hire others to grow your promo sales, click here. Ready to Dominate Your Market? If you're serious about creating top-of-mind-awareness with the very best prospects in your market, schedule a one-on-one Strategy Session here.

Send us Fan MailHere in Episode 276 of the No Name Music Cast, it is Joy's turn to pick the topic and she chooses to talk about the songs and stories of the TV show Glee.We cover music from The Foo Fighters, Salt & Pepa, Elton John and Shania Twain to mention only a few.We also cover Colin Powell, Twerking and Tim gives his review of the recent Black Label Society show!Support the showEmail the show: nonamemusiccast@gmail.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonamemusiccastpodcast/https://nonamemusiccast.com/

Some stories grip you because of the storm. Others stay with you because of what comes after.New York Times bestselling author John U. Bacon has written more than a dozen books from leadership lessons drawn from coaching America's worst high school hockey team, to Michigan classics to his latest, The Gales of November, the untold story behind the Edmund Fitzgerald and the brutal, invisible world of Great Lakes shipping.In this episode, John and I cover a lot of ground: what makes a leader worth following, why disaster is almost never one thing, the Colin Powell quote every boss should keep close, and why first drafts are supposed to stink. We talk about Bo Schembechler's secret superpower (it wasn't yelling), the wild west of college football today, and the parenting wisdom of getting out of the way and letting the kids play their own game.We also share a tender moment about my parents who sat in John's University of Michigan classroom in retirement and lived a curiosity-first chapter that still shapes how I move through the world.If you're navigating a curveball, building something new, raising kids, or just trying to figure out what to keep and what to let go… this one's for you.johnubacon.compaigekornblue.com

Today's Poll Question at Smerconish.com: When you vote, which matters more: character or policy? Michael Smerconish explores one of the oldest and most uncomfortable questions in American politics: should voters prioritize a candidate's personal character or the policies they promise to deliver? Drawing on the views of Colin Powell and James Madison, plus examples from JFK, Nixon, Clinton, and Trump, Michael examines the gap between what voters say matters and how they actually vote. If millions knowingly support candidates they view as dishonest or immoral, is policy ultimately what drives elections? Or does character still define leadership in a meaningful way? This episode unpacks the tradeoffs voters make in the privacy of the voting booth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Listen/Watch the FULL EPISODE ad-free/early on Substack: https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Col. (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson held a position in government Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff. He talks corporations involvement in government, Trump's visit to China this week, the Iran conflict, Europe, Russia, Cuba, and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!!   Follow Me X- https://x.com/CoffeeandaMike IG- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-and-a-mike/id1436799008 Gab- https://gab.com/CoffeeandaMike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com   Support My Work Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/coffeeandamike Paypal- https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/Coffeeandamike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Patreon- http://patreon.com/coffeeandamike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Cash App- https://cash.app/$coffeeandamike Buy Me a Coffee- https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeandamike Bitcoin- coffeeandamike@strike.me   Mail Check or Money Order- Coffee and a Mike LLC P.O. Box 25383 Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998   Sponsors Vaulted/Precious Metals- https://vaulted.blbvux.net/coffeeandamike McAlvany Precious Metals- https://mcalvany.com/coffeeandamike/  

“We're losing home on so many different levels. Physically. Politically. Morally. And after AI, spiritually — because language, our spiritual home, is taken away from us. We now have to share it with an unhuman entity.” — Ece Temelkuran Do you feel homeless — physically, politically, morally or spiritually? That's the question posed by Ece Temelkuran's new book Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the Twenty-First Century. Shortlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Nonfiction, the narrative is structured as a series of letters from one homeless stranger to another. Temelkuran left Turkey in 2016, after threats to her life made staying untenable. After seven years of exile — in Beirut, Tunis, Oxford, Paris, Zagreb, and now Berlin — she has written both her own and our story in today's globalized, populist age. She's been called everything from a 21st century Hannah Arendt to a “ruthless Cassandra.” And yet she retains faith in the future — as a defiant stance, a can-do-no-other attitude against rootlessness and loneliness. The wisdom of survival, Ece Temelkuran argues, lies with refugees, exiles and migrants like herself. This nation of strangers are rebuilding home in our homeless world. Five Takeaways •       Four Kinds of Homelessness: Temelkuran identifies four simultaneous crises of home. Physical homelessness: refugees, migrants, the displaced. Political homelessness: people who no longer recognize their countries, who feel unrepresented by any party, who cannot feel that they belong where they are. Moral homelessness: people who see the cruelty of our times and find no institution — state, court, international organization — capable of stopping it. And spiritual homelessness: the loss of language as our innermost home, now shared with AI. Four levels of being unhoused at once. That is the human condition of 2026. •       Minneapolis as a Nation of Strangers: The week the book was published in the US, Minneapolis happened — ordinary people forming human chains to resist ICE agents. Temelkuran's reading: that was a Nation of Strangers in action. People who had never met, people from different communities who owed each other nothing in the old sense, holding on to each other because they recognized a shared condition. Not an ideology, not a party, not a leader — just strangers building a home together in real time. That, she says, is what the book is about. •       Digital Refugees: When Elon Musk bought Twitter, millions of people fled to Mastodon, Bluesky, and other platforms — behaving, Temelkuran observes, exactly like refugees. Looking back at the old home while building a new one. Checking both simultaneously. She asks: why did no one think to occupy Twitter? To say: this is ours, not yours? Her conclusion: our political imagination has become extraordinarily limited. We accept displacement, digital or physical, as inevitable. We do not think to resist it by occupying the space rather than fleeing. •       Gaza and the Move-On Ideology: Gaza was the ultimate test of how much humanity can swallow. Temelkuran draws an arc from Colin Powell's tube in the UN Security Council in 2003 — when a global anti-war movement was brushed aside — to today. Each time people mobilize and are ignored, they lose a little more faith in themselves, in politics, in institutions. What devastated Temelkuran most was not the bombing but Jared Kushner at Davos presenting his PowerPoint for a seaside resort in Gaza. That, she says, is what neoliberal morality looks like. Move on. That is the lowest of the low. •       The Pioneers of History: Refugees as the Advance Guard: Temelkuran resisted writing her own story for years — she came from a leftist family where talking about yourself was suspect, and she feared being seen as a victim. What changed: she realized her story intersected with the story of the masses. The wisdom of survival — how to remake home from scratch, how to survive with dignity, how to rebuild identity after losing everything — belongs to refugees, exiles, and migrants. These are the pioneers of history. Soon everyone will need what they know. That is why their stories matter now. About the Guest Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish writer, political thinker, and public speaker. She is the author of Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the Twenty-First Century (Simon & Schuster, May 2026), shortlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Nonfiction; How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Fascism; and Together: A Manifesto Against a Heartless World. She was born in Turkey and is based in Berlin. References: •       Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the Twenty-First Century by Ece Temelkuran (Simon & Schuster, May 2026). •       How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Fascism by Ece Temelkuran — the book that made her reputation in the West. •       Together: A Manifesto Against a Heartless World by Ece Temelkuran — the second book, between How to Lose a Country and Nation of Strangers. •       Episode 2894: Marc Loustau on why Orbán lost and how to defeat Trump — the companion episode on defeating fascism from within the system. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting. WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters: (00:31) - Is Ece still retaining faith in the future? (01:47) - Faith as a stance: like Martin Luther, here I stand (02:30) - How to Lose a Country and what comes next (02:57) - Minneapolis as a Nation of Strangers (04:00) - Four kinds of homelessness: physical, political, moral, spiritual (04:35) - AI and the loss of language as spiritual home (05:10) - Why this book now — and why it's the most personal

Summary:  Former Paralympian and Army veteran John Register joins The Leadership Habit to discuss leadership decision-making, resilience, and overcoming adversity. After losing his leg while training for the Olympics, Register rebuilt his life and became a Paralympic silver medalist. In this episode, he shares his “Amputate to Elevate” leadership philosophy, encouraging leaders to let go of indecision, outdated thinking, and limiting beliefs in order to adapt and move forward. The conversation explores leadership under pressure, leading through uncertainty, and the critical importance of decisive leadership for organizational growth and change.  Leadership today requires more than vision. It requires the courage to make difficult decisions before all the answers are available. On the latest episode of the Leadership Habit podcast, John Register joined host Jenn DeWall for a conversation about resilience, leadership decision-making, and what it truly means to move forward after adversity. John's story is remarkable. A decorated Persian Gulf War Army veteran and elite athlete, he was training for the Olympic Games when a devastating injury changed everything. After a missed hurdle caused severe damage to his leg, he made the life-altering decision to amputate above the knee. Instead of allowing that moment to define him, he adapted, rebuilt, and eventually became a two-sport Paralympic athlete and silver medalist. But this episode is about much more than athletics. It is about leadership under pressure and the decisions leaders avoid making every day. Meet John Register, Paralympic Silver Medalist John Register is a leadership keynote speaker, strategic advisor, Army combat veteran, Paralympic silver medalist, and co-founder of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Paralympic Military Sports Program. Today, he helps organizations navigate change and uncertainty through his “Amputate to Elevate” philosophy, which focuses on removing what no longer serves you in order to move forward with clarity and purpose. Throughout the conversation, John shares lessons from military leadership, elite sports, and personal adversity that apply directly to today's workplace challenges. The Leadership Cost of Indecision One of the biggest themes in this episode is indecision. According to John, many leaders already know what needs to change. The challenge is not awareness. The challenge is commitment. Whether it is addressing an underperforming employee, adopting new technology, changing strategy, or having a difficult conversation, leaders often stay stuck waiting for certainty that never comes. As John explains in the episode: “You know what you need to cut. You know you’ve been holding onto that thing for a very long time.” That hesitation creates organizational drag. Teams lose momentum. Problems linger. Innovation slows down. Employees lose confidence in leadership.  In many organizations, the real issue is not a lack of strategy. It is a lack of decisive leadership. The “Amputate to Elevate” Leadership Philosophy John's “Amputate to Elevate” philosophy challenges leaders to let go of what no longer supports growth. That might mean: Letting go of outdated systems Releasing limiting beliefs Moving on from ineffective processes Making difficult personnel decisions Re-evaluating priorities Accepting that old approaches may no longer work The concept is uncomfortable by design. Transformation is difficult because it requires leaders to become something different. As John explains, most people say they want transformation, but what they really want is transition. They want improvement without discomfort. Real growth rarely works that way. This is especially relevant in a business environment shaped by rapid technological change, shifting employee expectations, economic uncertainty, and AI disruption. Organizations that wait too long to adapt risk falling behind. The Resonance Model: A Framework for Leading Through Change A major portion of the episode focuses on John's “Resonance Model,” which includes three stages leaders move through during change: Reckoning This is the stage where leaders recognize something is no longer working. However, many organizations stay stuck here because they resist acknowledging the real problem. John describes reckoning as the tension between wanting things to stay the same while simultaneously knowing change is necessary. Revision Revision is the planning and possibility stage. Leaders begin exploring options, considering new paths, and imagining different outcomes. This is where creativity and adaptability become essential leadership skills. Renewal Renewal begins when leaders commit to action. Once a decision is made, there is no returning to the previous version of reality. That commitment creates momentum, learning, and growth. John repeatedly emphasizes that nothing changes until action happens. “Nothing starts until the button is pushed.” For many leaders, this is the hardest step. Leadership Decision Making in Uncertain Times One of the strongest leadership lessons from this episode is the idea that certainty is an illusion. Leaders often delay decisions because they want more data, more confidence, or guarantees about outcomes. John references former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his “40/70 Rule.” The idea is simple: With less than 40% of the information, you likely do not know enough to decide. With more than 70%, you may already be waiting too long. At some point, leaders must act without perfect information. This mindset is critical for modern leadership development. Markets change quickly. Employee expectations evolve rapidly. Technology advances constantly. Teams need leaders who can make thoughtful decisions and move forward with confidence. Leadership Resilience Is Built Through Action Another powerful takeaway from this episode is that resilience is not passive. John did not become resilient because adversity happened to him. He became resilient because he continued moving forward after adversity. After losing his leg, he did not initially know about the Paralympic Games. He simply took the next step available to him by swimming for physical therapy. That one step eventually opened entirely new opportunities. That lesson applies directly to leadership. Leaders do not need to have every answer immediately. They need the willingness to move forward, learn, adapt, and continue making progress. Action creates clarity. Indecision creates stagnation. Why Leadership Development Matters More Than Ever This episode reinforces why leadership development cannot be treated as a one-time event. Strong leadership requires ongoing growth, adaptability, communication, and decision-making practice. Leaders need opportunities to strengthen their confidence, challenge limiting assumptions, and develop the skills necessary to lead through uncertainty. Organizations that invest in leadership development create leaders who are better equipped to: Navigate change Communicate clearly Make difficult decisions Build trust Adapt quickly Support employee engagement Create accountability Those capabilities matter now more than ever. Where to Find More From John Register Listen to the full episode Visit John Register's website Connect with John on LinkedIn Ready to Strengthen Your Leadership Skills? Leadership growth does not happen by accident. It happens through intentional development, practice, and learning. If your organization is looking to improve communication, accountability, decision making, and leadership effectiveness, Crestcom's complimentary Leadership Skills Workshop can help. The workshop is available virtually or in person for teams around the world. Learn more at: Crestcom Leadership Skills Workshop Source transcript: The post Why Decisive Leadership Matters More Than Ever With John Register appeared first on Crestcom International.

Iran has put forward a proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, if the United States ends the war and blockade. Richard Haass is a previous president of the Council on Foreign Relations and an advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell during the George W. Bush administration spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Mr. Colinpowell (Samara Weaving: Ready Q, Not, The Babysitter) talks to Trey and Goldie about the complications of making business cards for whalers, as well as moving to the US from Australia to marry a chickadee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most organizations look inward when they build strategy. How did we do last year? Can we do 10% better this year? But that internal focus makes you miss the big changes happening in your market.  When it comes to disruptive change, John Donahoe has seen it all — as the CEO of Nike, eBay, and ServiceNow. Today, he's navigating the seismic changes in college sports as Athletic Director at Stanford. In this conversation, he'll unpack how to navigate big changes with smart strategy and servant-minded leadership. Plus, he gets vulnerable about the mistakes he made at Nike and the 10-minute ritual he starts every morning with. You'll also learn:  How to create strategy from the outside in A powerful way to reframe AI (hint: it's not about AI) The mindset shift that helps you see adversity as opportunity The leadership lessons he learned from Colin Powell and Coach K Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The How Leaders Lead App⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daily Insight Emails⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you'll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

In this candid conversation, Bulwark writer Will Saletan discusses his latest piece on Donald Trump's disturbing compulsion to attack deceased critics and opponents. The trigger? Trump's Truth Social post rejoicing over former FBI Director Robert Mueller's death.Will and Matt unpack the full list of "greatest hits": Attacking Gold Star parents, smearing John McCain even after his death ("I like people who weren't captured"), dismissing John Lewis and Colin Powell, and claiming Rob Reiner "died of TDS."They also discuss:— Why Republicans like Mike Johnson and Scott Bessent defend Trump's attacks on the dead — Trump's attacks on his own appointees (Gorsuch and Barrett called "sickening" over tariffs), while paying off the bad guys (Michael Flynn and Ashli Babbitt settlements).Plus: — ICE at airports— Transgender athletes in sports— Social media addiction— Robot umps in baseball— And MUCH more!Subscribe to Matt Lewis on Substack: https://mattklewis.substack.com/Support Matt Lewis at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattlewisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattLewisDCTwitter: https://twitter.com/mattklewisInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattlewisreels/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVhSMpjOzydlnxm5TDcYn0A– Who is Matt Lewis? –Matt K. Lewis is a political commentator and the author of Filthy Rich Politicians.Buy Matt's books: FILTHY RICH POLITICIANS: https://www.amazon.com/Filthy-Rich-Politicians-Creatures-Ruling-Class/dp/1546004416TOO DUMB TO FAIL: https://www.amazon.com/Too-Dumb-Fail-Revolution-Conservative/dp/0316383937Copyright © 2026, BBL & BWL, LLC

In this episode, Garret Dillon shares his journey from the 101st Airborne Division to Director of Integrations at Agentis Longevity, and the military-forged mindset that drives his work. Through Shore Capital's Military to Operations program, Garret found a path to channel his leadership, grit, and relentless optimism into building a fast-growing healthcare company from the inside. He reflects on how the discipline of military life translates to the ambiguity of a startup, why veterans shouldn't discount their experience, and how a Colin Powell quote became his operating philosophy. The episode paints a picture of how one person's energy and mindset can shape a team's culture and a company's trajectory.Key Takeaways:Staying optimistic isn't just nice to have. It's what makes big goals possible with a small team.The skills veterans build in the military carry over to business more than they might expect.Not having a playbook is tough, but it's also the most rewarding part of building something new.Great culture doesn't happen by accident. It comes from people who show up every day with energy and purpose.Chapters:00:00 — Introduction03:00 — From the Military to Agentis07:12 — Optimism in Action10:36 — Building Culture14:08 — Advice and Motivation19:05 — What Makes Garret a HeroListen to our podcasts at:https://www.shorecp.university/podcastsThere you will also find our other Everyday Heroes episodes, alongside our series Microcap Moments and Bigger. Stronger. Faster., highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique.Other ways to connect:Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blogShore University: https://www.shorecp.university/Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blogThis podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, nor a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

In this episode, Garret Dillon shares his journey from the 101st Airborne Division to Director of Integrations at Agentis Longevity, and the military-forged mindset that drives his work. Through Shore Capital's Military to Operations program, Garret found a path to channel his leadership, grit, and relentless optimism into building a fast-growing healthcare company from the inside. He reflects on how the discipline of military life translates to the ambiguity of a startup, why veterans shouldn't discount their experience, and how a Colin Powell quote became his operating philosophy. The episode paints a picture of how one person's energy and mindset can shape a team's culture and a company's trajectory.Key Takeaways:Staying optimistic isn't just nice to have. It's what makes big goals possible with a small team.The skills veterans build in the military carry over to business more than they might expect.Not having a playbook is tough, but it's also the most rewarding part of building something new.Great culture doesn't happen by accident. It comes from people who show up every day with energy and purpose.Chapters:00:00 — Introduction03:00 — From the Military to Agentis07:12 — Optimism in Action10:36 — Building Culture14:08 — Advice and Motivation19:05 — What Makes Garret a HeroListen to our podcasts at:https://www.shorecp.university/podcastsThere you will also find our other Everyday Heroes episodes, alongside our series Microcap Moments and Bigger. Stronger. Faster., highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique.Other ways to connect:Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blogShore University: https://www.shorecp.university/Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blogThis podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, nor a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

──────────────────────────────────────── [00:00:49] Trump Announces Iran Talks — Iran Says No Talks Exist, Calls It Fake News A $1.5B stock bet and $192M oil short were placed minutes before Trump's announcement, while Iran's foreign ministry simultaneously denied any contact with Washington had occurred. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:04:14] Massive Pre-Announcement Trade on Stocks and Oil Flagged as Likely Inside Job S&P 500 futures and oil futures saw an anomalous volume surge 5–15 minutes before Trump's peace announcement, with the stock bet returning 2.5% and the oil short returning 6% — drawing direct comparisons to pre-9/11 insider trading. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:05:23] Port Arthur Refinery Explosion Preceded by Israeli Search Spike on March 17th A Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas exploded under disputed circumstances. Google Analytics data shows a significant search surge for "Port Arthur, Texas" originating from Israel days before the incident. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:11:05] Colonel McGregor: Iran Is Winning — US Repeating Vietnam-Era Spreadsheet War Strategy McGregor argues Iran spent 20 years preparing to survive a US assault and has succeeded, while US leadership repeats the failed Vietnam-era body count metric of listing sorties and bomb tonnage as proof of progress. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:22:06] Goldman Sachs Analyst: Trump's Iran Escalation Is the Same Scam He Ran on Tariffs A Goldman analyst maps Trump's Iran behavior — float, escalate, ultimatum, off-ramp — as identical to his North Korea, Soleimani, and China tariff playbooks, warning Iran has likely recognized the pattern and won't provide an easy concession. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:33:38] Iran Releases Specific Target List Across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait Iran published a location-specific list of refineries, power plants, and desalination complexes across Gulf States to be struck if its infrastructure is hit again. The IEA director warns the crisis already exceeds both 1970s oil shocks combined. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:48:34] Former Wall Street Journal Editor: Americans Now Trust Iran's War Reports Over Their Own President Former WSJ editor-in-chief Gerard Baker calls Trump "Baghdad Bob," saying Americans are now in the unprecedented position of finding the enemy's battlefield reporting more credible than their own commander-in-chief's. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:50:00] Trump Promoted the CIA Torturer Who Fabricated Iraq War Intelligence to CIA Director Trump appointed Gina Haspel — the CIA officer who extracted false WMD intelligence through torture and delivered it to Colin Powell for his UN presentation — revealing the Iran war is being run by the same apparatus that manufactured the Iraq war. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:05:29] Joe Kent vs. Mark Levin: Israel Dragged US Into War, FBI Now Investigating Kent for Leaking Kent argued on Levin's program that Israel's lobby deliberately moved the nuclear red line to sabotage US-Iran negotiations. The FBI has since opened a leaking investigation against Kent, widely characterized as retaliatory political targeting. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:14:34] Kent to Tucker Carlson: Israel's Goal Is to Destroy the Entire Middle East, Not Just Iran In a two-hour Carlson interview, Kent argues US and Israeli objectives have diverged — Washington seeks limited goals, but Israel aims to destabilize the entire Gulf region for territorial expansion. Kent calls for withdrawing US defensive support as the only real leverage. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:35:02] Susie Wiles Has Cancer — Stephen Miller Now Ascending as Dominant White House Influence Wiles, described as a moderating force in the Trump White House, is stepping back due to cancer. Stephen Miller is positioned to fill the power vacuum, with ICE agents already operating under a grant of absolute immunity. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:42:31] Blackburn's AI Bill: Full Section 230 Repeal, Mandatory Watermarking, Federal Internet Takeover Blackburn's 291-page bill repeals Section 230, mandates content provenance watermarking on all AI media, and expands liability across all platforms — effectively forcing open source and small developers out of existence while centralizing internet control through corporate enforcement. ────────────────────────────────────────Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silver For 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHT Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.

──────────────────────────────────────── [00:00:49] Trump Announces Iran Talks — Iran Says No Talks Exist, Calls It Fake News A $1.5B stock bet and $192M oil short were placed minutes before Trump's announcement, while Iran's foreign ministry simultaneously denied any contact with Washington had occurred. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:04:14] Massive Pre-Announcement Trade on Stocks and Oil Flagged as Likely Inside Job S&P 500 futures and oil futures saw an anomalous volume surge 5–15 minutes before Trump's peace announcement, with the stock bet returning 2.5% and the oil short returning 6% — drawing direct comparisons to pre-9/11 insider trading. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:05:23] Port Arthur Refinery Explosion Preceded by Israeli Search Spike on March 17th A Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas exploded under disputed circumstances. Google Analytics data shows a significant search surge for "Port Arthur, Texas" originating from Israel days before the incident. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:11:05] Colonel McGregor: Iran Is Winning — US Repeating Vietnam-Era Spreadsheet War Strategy McGregor argues Iran spent 20 years preparing to survive a US assault and has succeeded, while US leadership repeats the failed Vietnam-era body count metric of listing sorties and bomb tonnage as proof of progress. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:22:06] Goldman Sachs Analyst: Trump's Iran Escalation Is the Same Scam He Ran on Tariffs A Goldman analyst maps Trump's Iran behavior — float, escalate, ultimatum, off-ramp — as identical to his North Korea, Soleimani, and China tariff playbooks, warning Iran has likely recognized the pattern and won't provide an easy concession. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:33:38] Iran Releases Specific Target List Across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait Iran published a location-specific list of refineries, power plants, and desalination complexes across Gulf States to be struck if its infrastructure is hit again. The IEA director warns the crisis already exceeds both 1970s oil shocks combined. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:48:34] Former Wall Street Journal Editor: Americans Now Trust Iran's War Reports Over Their Own President Former WSJ editor-in-chief Gerard Baker calls Trump "Baghdad Bob," saying Americans are now in the unprecedented position of finding the enemy's battlefield reporting more credible than their own commander-in-chief's. ──────────────────────────────────────── [00:50:00] Trump Promoted the CIA Torturer Who Fabricated Iraq War Intelligence to CIA Director Trump appointed Gina Haspel — the CIA officer who extracted false WMD intelligence through torture and delivered it to Colin Powell for his UN presentation — revealing the Iran war is being run by the same apparatus that manufactured the Iraq war. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:05:29] Joe Kent vs. Mark Levin: Israel Dragged US Into War, FBI Now Investigating Kent for Leaking Kent argued on Levin's program that Israel's lobby deliberately moved the nuclear red line to sabotage US-Iran negotiations. The FBI has since opened a leaking investigation against Kent, widely characterized as retaliatory political targeting. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:14:34] Kent to Tucker Carlson: Israel's Goal Is to Destroy the Entire Middle East, Not Just Iran In a two-hour Carlson interview, Kent argues US and Israeli objectives have diverged — Washington seeks limited goals, but Israel aims to destabilize the entire Gulf region for territorial expansion. Kent calls for withdrawing US defensive support as the only real leverage. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:35:02] Susie Wiles Has Cancer — Stephen Miller Now Ascending as Dominant White House Influence Wiles, described as a moderating force in the Trump White House, is stepping back due to cancer. Stephen Miller is positioned to fill the power vacuum, with ICE agents already operating under a grant of absolute immunity. ──────────────────────────────────────── [01:42:31] Blackburn's AI Bill: Full Section 230 Repeal, Mandatory Watermarking, Federal Internet Takeover Blackburn's 291-page bill repeals Section 230, mandates content provenance watermarking on all AI media, and expands liability across all platforms — effectively forcing open source and small developers out of existence while centralizing internet control through corporate enforcement. ──────────────────────────────────────── Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silver For 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHT Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-david-knight-show--5282736/support.

In podcast episode 128, posted just before Operation Epic Fury began, I outlined how I think that an attack on Iran could be just, necessary, and what I perceived as a path to achieve the goals expressed by the U.S. Government in the weeks leading to the start of the war. I did not expect this to be a blueprint for what would actually happen. What I really did not expect was for the conduct of the war to be completely different that that. So different that more than the usual naysayers are questioning whether this war is just at all, or winnable. In this episode I go beyond the Just War Theory I used in my previous analysis, using the Weinberger-Powell model for the use of military force. This model is credited with successful use of American military force in the last decade and a half of the 20th century. Although it is not, and was never intended as a recipe for success, abandoning its thought process seems to have been a formula for failure. As usual, the opinions in these podcasts are my own and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Department of Defense, anyone else in the U.S. Government, or any other organization I am or ever have been associated with. The United States should not commit forces to combat unless the vital national interests of the United States or its allies are involved.   Dedication to my sons, 1st Lt Miles Mayer USAF and PFC Charles Mayer USA. With the commitment to our future military engagements being jus ad bellum and jus in bello.   The Weinberger-Powell Doctrine (1984) Promulgated by Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger. Believed to have been written by then Maj Gen Colin Powell, his senior military assistant. The United States should not commit forces to combat unless the vital national interests of the United States or its allies are involved. S. troops should only be committed wholeheartedly and with the clear intention of winning. Otherwise, troops should not be committed. U.S. combat troops should be committed only with clearly defined political and military objectives and with the capacity to accomplish those objectives. The relationship between the objectives and the size and composition of the forces committed should be continually reassessed and adjusted if necessary. U.S. troops should not be committed to battle without a "reasonable assurance" of the support of U.S. public opinion and Congress. The commitment of U.S. troops should be considered only as a last resort.   General Colin Powell's re-statement of the Doctrine in 1992, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Is a vital national security interest threatened? Do we have a clear attainable objective? Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed? Have all other nonviolent policy means been fully exhausted? Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement? Have the consequences of our action been fully considered? Is the action supported by the American people? Do we have genuine broad international support? If after careful consideration of these questions, the decision is made to commit U.S. military forces, then two imperatives shall apply:   Clear and unambiguous objectives must be given to the armed forces. These objectives must be firmly linked with the political objectives. When we do use it, we should not be equivocal: we should win and win decisively.   Reference: Powell, C. “U.S. Forces: Challenges Ahead,” Foreign Affairs, Winter 1992/93 Music: Kiilstofte, J., The Cavalry, Machinamasound (Licensed)

Col. (ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson held a position in government Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff. He talks Iran, likelihood of ground troops, military draft in the United States, China's plan to replace the dollar, Venezuela, Cuba, and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!!   Watch Show Rumble- https://rumble.com/v774cza-trump-administration-is-ending-the-republic-col.-larry-wilkerson.html YouTube- https://youtu.be/DrT1AHF1AMk   Follow Me X- https://x.com/CoffeeandaMike IG- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-and-a-mike/id1436799008 Gab- https://gab.com/CoffeeandaMike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com   Support My Work Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/coffeeandamike Paypal- https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/Coffeeandamike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Patreon- http://patreon.com/coffeeandamike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Cash App- https://cash.app/$coffeeandamike Buy Me a Coffee- https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeandamike Bitcoin- coffeeandamike@strike.me   Mail Check or Money Order- Coffee and a Mike LLC P.O. Box 25383 Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998   Sponsors Vaulted/Precious Metals- https://vaulted.blbvux.net/coffeeandamike McAlvany Precious Metals- https://mcalvany.com/coffeeandamike/

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson — former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell at the State Department and Joint Chiefs — joins Paul Jay and gives his unfiltered assessment of the U.S. war on Iran. Wilkerson argues the conflict is unconstitutional, unwinnable, and strategically catastrophic. Topics include: Iran's military resilience and long-term strategy, Israel's nuclear threats, the depletion of U.S. and Israeli air defense munitions, China's push to replace the dollar with the renminbi, the collapse of American alliances worldwide, the threat to the 2026 midterm elections, and whether impeachment proceedings against Trump are inevitable.

Ralph welcomes Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson to discuss a wide range of topics, including NATO, Greenland, Gaza, and more. Then, Ralph speaks to Rabbi Alissa Wise (founding director of Rabbis for Ceasefire) about the “Jews for Food Aid for People in Gaza" campaign. Finally, Ralph and the team address some current events.Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Over his 31 years of service, Colonel Wilkerson served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2005, and Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Colonel Wilkerson also served as Deputy Director and Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia, and for fifteen years he was the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network, senior advisor to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and co-founder of the All-Volunteer Force Forum.You aren't a newspaper, not really, if you don't have the guts to go out and get the news wherever it's happening. And you're reporting, nonetheless, to the American people [on the truth]. And it's nothing about the truth. It's as bad as what Netanyahu does in his own country in Hebrew. It's propaganda. And in many cases, it's not even accurate propaganda. It's falsified propaganda. You know, there used to be a law. And the law prohibited anyone in the Defense Department, for example, but any of the government agencies (Defense Department was the most guilty) that said: you cannot propagandize the American people. You can propagandize foreign audiences—even in wartime, you can propagandize those audiences, but you must not propagandize the American people. You have to tell them the truth or tell nothing at all. And if you're a media outlet, you should be telling them the truth, or the truth as you best can determine it. We don't honor that law anymore.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonI think [NATO and the EU are] gone, but I think the prospect for the future ought to be that we replace them. We don't just let them go and not have a replacement. And the replacement should be a European security architecture, which includes the Russians. And last time I checked a Rand McNally map, Russia (at least from the Urals inward) was a part of Europe. And it needs to be based not on spheres of influence, but on economic and financial and other needs that all of that group of people have. That's how you create something that will keep Europe and Russia together and not at loggerheads.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonI've said this a number of times (publicly I've said it) —the January 6th attempt to overthrow the United States government in favor of Donald Trump didn't fail because the system held. It failed because the coup plotters were incompetent, and their incompetence was most visible in not having the military (or a sizable segment thereof). They will not do that again.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonRabbi Alissa Wise is the Lead Organizer of Rabbis for Ceasefire, which she founded in October 2023. She was a staff leader at Jewish Voice for Peace from 2011-2021 and co-founded the JVP Rabbinical Council in 2010. She is co-author of “Solidarity is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing”. She is also one of the organizers of the “Jews for Food Aid for People in Gaza” campaign.I think there is a lot of support in the Jewish community for living up to core liberatory values that there are within Jewish tradition. This is true in every religious tradition and it's true in Judaism, where you can open the sacred text and find a justification for oppression or you could open a sacred text and find a pathway to liberation. And so what we're inviting people into is to pull the thread of liberatory Judaism. And making the conscious choice that those are the threads of the tradition that we want to pull on.Rabbi Alissa WiseThere's nothing Jewish about what the state of Israel is doing—about the state of Israel at all. It's not actually a fulfillment of Jewish practice or tradition or Torah. It's not a Torah-based government. It's government. It's a nation state. It's a military. And it uses—as I was saying before, one could open the Torah and identify justification for endless war or justification for freedom. And I think they often use their Jewishness as a fig leaf in order to shield themselves from criticism because “when you criticize them, you're being anti-Semitic.” And they pull on certain quotes or elements of Jewish teachings that either seem to uphold what they're doing while at the same time being palatable and accessible to the Christian Zionists that actually have for a long time been empowering US foreign policy.Rabbi Alissa WiseNews 2/6/26* Last week, we discussed the showdown in Congress over forcing Bill and Hillary Clinton to testify before the House Oversight Committee regarding the Epstein probe. Despite pressure from Democratic House leadership, many Democrats broke ranks to vote in favor of holding the former President and former Secretary of State in contempt of Congress. If this vote had gone to the full House, it is possible the couple could have been jailed until they agreed to testify. Instead, this week, Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to appear before the Committee. Bill Clinton's relationship with Epstein is well-documented through the flight logs and photos that have emerged since the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Hillary Clinton claims never to have met or spoken with the late sex offender and financier, per the BBC. Former President Clinton will appear for a deposition on February 27th; the former Secretary of State will appear the day before. This piece notes that this will mark the first time a former president has testified to Congress since Gerald Ford did so in 1983 – marking a watershed moment for Congress reasserting its constitutional authority.* In more news of Congress asserting its authority vis-a-vis the Epstein scandal, Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie appeared on “Meet the Press,” this week and said that while the release of the latest batch of files is “significant,” it “is not good enough.” Khanna estimates that only about half of the Epstein files have been released so far. Given how much we have learned from the files so far, it is anyone's guess what lurks in the files they have yet to release. Crucially, withholding the files is in direct contravention of the law authored by the two lawmakers. Khanna stated plainly that “If we don't get the remaining files…Thomas Massie and I are prepared to move on impeachment,” of Attorney General Pam Bondi. This from CNBC.* The Epstein scandal has contributed to growing fissures in the MAGA movement. Perhaps the most notable defector from that camp is retired Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. This week, Greene sat for an interview with conservative radio personality Kim Iversen, and said that President Trump's Make America Great Again slogan was “all a lie…a big lie for the people,” adding “What MAGA is really serving in this administration, who they're serving, is their big donors,” per the Hill. Elaborating further, Greene said that Trump's financial backers are the real beneficiaries of the supposedly populist movement, saying “They get the government contracts, they get the pardons, or somebody they love or one of their friends gets a pardon.” While Greene has resigned her seat in Congress, she shows little sign of disappearing from the public eye. Many speculate she could seek political office in the future, even the presidency, charting a path forward for a post-Trump GOP.* Another major fight in Congress has to do with checking the out of control Department of Homeland Security. While congressional Democrats' response to the events in Minneapolis leaves much to be desired, Senate Democratic leadership is pushing for reforms to “rein in” ICE and Border Patrol, including “body camera requirements, an end to roving patrols, elevated warrant requirements and a measure to ban officers from wearing masks,” per the Hill. While these reforms fall far short of what is needed, they would go a long way toward checking the worst excesses of these out of control organizations that have come to resemble nothing so much as secret police.* At the state level, the New York Times reports New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office will “deploy legal observers to document raids conducted by federal immigration authorities across the state.” These observers, who will be outfitted with clearly identifiable purple vests, are intended to serve as “neutral witnesses on the ground,” and will be “instructed not to interfere with enforcement activity.” This piece highlights that California and New York have already “unveiled online portals for residents to upload photos and videos of misconduct by federal agents that could be used in state lawsuits against the federal government.” A similar effort is being launched by New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. It remains to be seen whether these attempts to step up oversight of ICE and CBP activity will check the flagrant misconduct we have seen in places in Minneapolis.* In more state and local news, the Root reports the Gullah-Geechee people – descendants of enslaved Africans who formed unique communities including a distinct culture and even language on the coasts of states like Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas – have scored a victory against gentrification on Sapelo Island, the only surviving Gullah-Geechee community in Georgia. In 2023, developers came in and, with local commissioners in their pockets attempted to “eliminate special zoning laws… [and] double the maximum home size on the island…to 3,000 square feet.” In response, local activists and groups like Keep Sapelo Geechee collected thousands of signatures to force a community vote on the matter. This measure passed late last month by a margin of 85%. While small in scale, this victory shows that when residents organize to protect their communities they can win, even in the face of long odds.* A more disturbing story of the American periphery comes to us from Bolts Magazine. This story concerns a family from American Samoa, an unincorporated U.S. Pacific territory where residents are “American Nationals” but not citizens of the United States. This family – Tupe Smith, her husband Mike Pese and their children – moved to Whittier, Alaska in 2017 to be close to Pese's mother. Smith, a pillar of the local community, was recruited to run for the school board and won unanimously. However, because she is only a National and not a citizen, despite having a U.S. passport and Social Security number, she was in fact not eligible to run for office or even vote. Smith was arrested and indicted on two charges of felony voter misconduct. The irony of this story is that “The Alaska DMV, which doubles as a voter registration office…did not [even] include [the option to identify as a non-citizen U.S. national on official forms] until 2022” and the state has admitted that it “registered an unspecified number of non-citizens to vote between 2022 and 2024.” Now, because of Alaska's own mistakes, some Nationals are beginning to be deported over their erroneous registrations. Beyond the bureaucratic incompetence, this is a story about the American empire designating people outside of U.S. mainland second-class citizens, or more precisely, Nationals, for no discernible reason other than keeping them as a permanent colonial underclass.* Speaking of American imperial expansion, the Financial Times reports Trump administration officials held covert meetings with fringe separatist groups from Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta, such as the far-right Alberta Prosperity Project. According to this report, separatist leaders have met with US state department officials in Washington three times since April 2025, and the separatists are seeking another meeting next month with state and Treasury officials to ask for a $500 billion credit line to help keep the province afloat financially if an independence referendum is passed. This blatant undermining of Canadian sovereignty triggered outcry in the country, with British Columbia premier David Eby saying “To go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there's an old fashioned word for that, and that word is treason.” This from another story in the FT.* In more Trump news, after a slew of embarrassing incidents including composer Philip Glass pulling his new Lincoln symphony from the Kennedy Center in protest and the arts director resigning after just days on the job, NPR reports the president announced he will close the center for two years for “Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding.” As the NPR piece notes, this announcement has sent ripples of confusion through the D.C. arts world, including everyone from performers in long running shows like Shear Madness, which is currently booked at the center through October as well as unions with Kennedy Center contracts, such as the musicians of the National Symphony and backstage crew. Moreover, technically Congress would have to approve of this overhaul, though considering how deferential Republican congressional leaders have proven, they would likely rubber-stamp any proposed changes. Regardless, a long-term closure of the Kennedy Center would be a tragic loss for the cultural landscape of Washington and a humiliating acknowledgment of Trump's own mismanagement of the venerable institution.* Finally, we turn to the tiny island nation of Cuba, which has held out against imperialist pressure from the United States for so many decades. This week, President Trump told reporters “Mexico is gonna cease sending [Cuba] oil,” though he did not explain why, per Reuters. At the same time, the Guardian reports Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to send humanitarian aid to Cuba adding that Mexico is “exploring all diplomatic avenues to be able to send fuel to the Cuban people,” despite the pressure campaign by the United States. She further claimed that despite Trump's comments, “We never discussed…the issue of oil with Cuba.” The Reuters piece however notes that “Trump has privately questioned Sheinbaum about crude and fuel shipments to Cuba,” and Sheinbaum “responded that the shipments are ‘humanitarian aid,'” and that Trump “did not directly urge Mexico to halt the oil deliveries.” On Sunday, the Hill reported Pope Leo XIV weighed in to beseech that the two nations engage in a “sincere and effective dialogue in order to avoid violence and every action that could increase the suffering of the dear Cuban people,” echoing a call by the Bishops of Cuba.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe