Genghis Khan – a great leader beyond the brutality – a repeat

Since we have a dearth of leadership, let me focus on someone who was brutal, but also understood a great deal about leadership, before and after the conquests – Genghis Khan. This is a repeat post, but still intrigues me.

My oldest son and I attended a traveling Genghis Khan museum exhibit on Sunday which is on our city for a few months. He is fascinated by Khan and his legacy that brought his Mongols to the doorsteps of Europe and conquered most of Asia, including China. He listens to a podcast with an avid and knowledgeable historian about Khan.

Khan first consolidated the nomadic tribes of Mongolia who tended to fight amongst themselves. He then turned his sights on other lands and was quite brutal in his quest. Yet, the story that cements his rule is he was a great leader that understood merit hiring over nepotism and allowed certain freedoms. More on this later.

The Mongols were a formidable fighting force for three principal reasons. They were superior horsemen where the entire battalion would attack on horseback overwhelming superior numbers. And, what amazed me is each rider would travel with two to three horses. Their army could move 75 miles in contrast to an opponent’s ten. And, then fight.

They were prolific archers with self-made and unusually shaped bows, which could shoot as far as 350 yards, much longer than other bows. And, they could shoot them accurately off horseback, even backwards. Often, the Mongols would pretend to retreat to lure their foes out and then reverse course and attack.

Finally, Khan organized them into a fighting force in numbers of ten. Each battalion had multiple groups of ten, who picked their own leader. And, the group of ten would be punished as a group for the failures of the one. These tens would be multiplied to a battalion of a thousand or ten thousand, which would be a potent and organized force.

Once a group was conquered, after certain leaders would be killed, the subordinate troops would swear allegiance and fight with the Mongols. The Mongols would not rule as harshly as the group leaders they conquered, as they wanted the civilians to support the conquering enemy and new leadership. Plus, there were several governing principles that last to this day.

• Religious freedom was provided where people would worship their religion of choice. Several religions were readily available even in the capitol city.
• Civil service officials came from a wide swath of people based on merit. So, civil service officials were more proficient than if they were hired on relationships..
• Diplomatic immunity was afforded any envoy traveling from another kingdom to visit. Kings do not kill envoys was a stated rule.
• People could move around with some limits as a passport system offered organized travel. One passport we saw had three languages on it.
• Environmental mandates were given for communities to protect their water sources.
• Taxation was often lowered on the conquered lands and exemptions afforded teachers and religious figures.
• Communication and organization were key. Some say Khan brought an organized purpose to previous rivals to fight together. The same held true in his governance.

These principles can be found in many societies today. The empire lasted for several hundred years, but what caused its retrenchment, in my view, are the vast distances it had to govern, but also the infighting of the Khan siblings and offspring. HIs grandson Kublai Khan was the last of the great Khan leaders, so after his demise, the empire started a slow wane.

If this exhibit comes to your city, I would encourage you to go see it. I am certain there are people more knowledgeable than me who can offer more specifics about the Mongolian empire, its rise, its governance and its decline. I would welcome any and all comments, especially if I am off base.

Ides of September, 2023

With 30 days in the month of September, we officially close out the first half of the month today. Happy Friday to boot. Here are a few Friday odds and ends to ponder as you look forward to the weekend.

Politicians who threaten or condone the threat of physical violence should be suspended until they undergo anger management. We cannot have our elected “so-called” leaders acting like thugs regardless of the height of their position. We deserve better than this.

To this point, if a politician wants to be taken seriously, then they should conduct themselves in a serious minded manner. I truly have little interest in hearing the blatherings of an elected official or candidate who cites propaganda and beats on their chest. Please remember, the louder the voice doesn’t make them worth listening to, it just means they are loud.

Please do not drink and drive this weekend. Drinking is fine, but don’t get behind the wheel of a car. I once bailed a relative out of jail the morning after who was too intoxicated and caused a wreck, which fortunately did not hurt anyone. The first thing he told me was not thanks, but what took me so long? Really?


My most frequented post is about my battle not to drink anymore, which is now past sixteen years. Trust me when I say I drank a lifetime of booze by the time I quit. I was a home drunk, imbibing heavily after I got home from work. I was a train wreck waiting to happen and stopped when I learned of an acquaintance who died from complications due to alcoholism when she was only age 59. The mantra I used is “I am not going to drink today.”

Finally, Aristotle advised that we humans are creatures of habit. In his book “The Power of Habit,” Charles Duhigg noted the way to change a bad habit is to know its trigger and substitute a better habit. One example is an overeater would walk past the break room at work on the way back from the lavatory. So, instead of noshing on cookies or donuts, he started taking a longer walk around the complex. He lost weight as a result. The trigger was the route back from the loo.

Thinking of the above actions, I am reminded of the humorous advice from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” as quoted by the Abraham Lincoln character which gives it gravitas, “Be excellent to one another and…party on dude!” The caveat is to have a designated driver or limit the imbibing.

Black fraternity moves planned 2025 conference from Florida

An article by Richard Luscombe in The Guardian called “Black fraternity moves Florida event over DeSantis’s ‘assault’ on minorities” caught my eye. Per the article, the subtitle says it all “Alpha Phi Alpha joins a number of companies and organizations boycotting state in protest of governor’s extremist positions.”

Here are the first few paragraphs: “A historic Black fraternity is pulling its 2025 conference from Florida to protest the rightwing governor Ron DeSantis’s ‘continued assault’ on minority communities, which includes new state teaching standards that forced labor was beneficial to enslaved people.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated said the decision to move its event from Orlando, joining a growing number of companies and organizations boycotting the state, was to highlight DeSantis’s ‘harmful, racist and insensitive policies against the Black community.’”

There is not much to add other than to repeat a belief of mine that a leader of an entity – a city, county, region, state or country – has a key goal to attract business growth and visitors. That means customers, jobs and tax revenue. With the Florida governor’s multiple autocratic antics around exaggerated wedge issues, he is doing the exact opposite of what he needs to be doing. He is driving people away. That is not leadership, that is shooting yourself in the foot.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/27/black-fraternity-florida-conference-ron-desantis-boycott

Was David really the underdog against Goliath?

I have often quoted Malcolm Gladwell, who is the best-selling author of books called “Blink,” “Outliers ” and “The Tipping Point.” One of his later books is also excellent and in keeping with his style of an outside looking in perspective – “David and Goliath.” Its subtitle elaborates further on its theme – “Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.”

“David and Goliath” helps us question how often and why underdogs are and can be successful. He starts with the biblical tale of how David slew the giant infantryman, Goliath, as one of the most celebrated underdogs. But, as Gladwell points out, David was not necessarily an underdog. David was an expert with a sling and had a history of bringing down large and small animals who threatened livestock. A sling was one of the artilleries of the day. When King Saul wanted David to wear armor to fight Goliath, he responded that he was not used to fighting in that way and did not care to put on the armor.

According to Gladwell, Goliath did not stand a chance. He noted because of Goliath’s size, created by an overactive pituitary gland, a side effect was poor eyesight. Goliath had to be led down to the battle field and needed to fight someone up close. With David needing to stay away to deliver his arsenal with the needed force, he had a chance to sling a rock and load up another if he missed. But, as a small animal hunter, David was pretty accurate.

Supposed underdogs are spread throughout history. We see them often in sporting events. Usually, they don’t brag about themselves and quietly go about their business. In fact, there is an old line which says it succinctly, “Beware of the quiet guy.” The one who is telling you how great they are is doing what apes do to avoid a fight – beating on their chest. They want to scare their opponent into submission.

In baseball, the underdog knows something that should not be a secret. Good pitching beats good hitting most of the time. The “Amazing Mets” easily beat a powerful Orioles team in 1969 and the Dodgers easily beat a loaded Yankees team in 1963 because the winner had terrific pitchers.

In football, the team that dominates the line of scrimmage usually wins. Once the game starts, that hype doesn’t matter. It is hard to tell someone how great you are when they are moving you backwards. Penn State University wears very plain uniforms and black shoes to appear slower than they are. They often disarmed people with their speed and fight. Please remember the uniform does not play the ballgame.

The key takeaway is be prepared for the contest, meeting, interview, etc. And, play to your strengths. That will get your further than if you don’t.

Conservative pundit praises Biden

President Joe Biden is not perfect, but he does not get the credit he deserves. The following link is to a blog which includes a piece by David Brooks, one of my favorite conservative pundits, who offers such credit in his usual informative style. Please give it a few minutes of your time.

A Conservative Praises Biden???

As I said earlier, Biden does not get the credit he deserves. A lot of that has to do with two factors. First, he cannot do enough to satisfy the progressive wing of his party and Republicans are told they cannot support the opposition party. Republicans would rather have a traitor in the White House who was ranked the 4th worst president in US history than a Democrat who is not doing too badly.

Second, we are the United States of Entertainment. Most people do not know what is going on in our country unless it is sports or entertainment related. We have folks who will watch an endless stream of sports analysts cover ad nauseum the games of the day. Or, they would rather watch entertainment gossip shows or podcasts.

So, given the more sensational negative bent in the news (if it bleeds it leads), we really are largely uninformed nation. Good news has a much smaller echo than bad news. The former president knows this which is a key reason his marketing schtick sells whatever he wants.

In general, I would suggest people do a few things to try to get at the truth. Do not get your news from a politician, especially a candidate. Do not get your news from people on social media, as we are all biased and many don’t confirm the veracity of sources. Confirm the veracity of your own sources and check multiple ones.

Biden has to answer for some of his actions, but he could do a better job of telling his story. One thing he has done is not involve himself in issues that are really not in his purview as did his predecessor.

Jim Brown – a simple name, but a complex man, may he RIP

Before Tina Turner passed away, another icon died, named Jim Brown. Brown was a legendary football running back for the Cleveland Browns and was arguably one of the best who ever played that position.

But, he was far more than that. He retired early to become an actor and was in a few dozen films. Most notably, he was in one of my favorite films called “The Dirty Dozen,” but more on that later.

What he should be also remembered for is he was an outspoken civil rights advocate and worked closely with Martin Luther King. Brown and three other legendary black athletes, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) of the UCLA Bruins all jointly spoke out for the rights of blacks. Brown was the centerpiece spokesperson.

Their outspokenness differs from the relative silence of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and their contemporaries who did not want to risk their endorsements. It is good to see current athletes like Lebron James and Colin Kaepernick speak out risking their careers. Kaepernick’s career has been ruined because of the backlash against his efforts.

Brown led the way with the other three stars of his day. He was not perfect and there are stories of domestic abuse. If true, this is an awful and a severe indictment of the man. It shows that notoriety does not mean they can do no wrong. Yet, to not mention his sins and crimes would be an unfair rendering of his life.

Let me close with a positive story from a boy who loved “The Dirty Dozen.” Brown’s character was sadly killed after a heroic scene in the movie. It was befitting his heroic nature as a football star, but was sad to see. Maybe it is a good reflection on sports heroes in general. They are very good at their craft and can use their platform for good as Brown did. But, that does not mean they are perfect. And, they should be held accountable for bad behavior just like all of us would.

The truth will set you free

As an old fart, I have gleaned several truths over the years listening to and reading the words of people much smarter than me. Here are just a few of those truths, at least per this editor of information.

A great leader is one who defers more credit to others and accepts more blame even when it is undue. Think of this when you hear a notorious former president (or any elected official for that matter) take credit and blame others on a routine basis. Bad leaders use too many “I” and “me” words to define success. “I, alone, can solve our problems” was uttered before the presidential election in 2016 at the GOP convention, but that is as much narcissistic as it untrue.

Telling your creditors you can’t pay your bills is not part of productive strategy to balance your budget. If the US does not raise its debt ceiling, it is very poor stewardship and tells our creditors we are bad risk. Legislators who say it is not poor stewardship are very much mistaken. Let’s pay our creditors, then have serious discussion around changes to increase revenue AND cut spending.

Lying and embellishing is not foreign to politicians. Yet, lying pretty much about everything is beyond the pale. George Santos, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis have achieved a greater level of deceitfulness than others. Santos has emulated the two older people and has created both a fake history and allegedly acted criminally. We deserve better than this. What he has not learned as well is how to be smug when called out on lying.

Vladimir Putin still wins the prize for untruthfulness. What has been difficult for him is the Ukraine invasion has gone so poorly for Russia, he cannot cover-up his lying. The word is getting out, sometimes within 24 hours that he was lying the day before. Ukraine is achieving success. So, it is hard to maintain a lie, when the evidence is shown in real time. The problem is coming clean will have to be a part of his exit strategy. He will need to say folks, this is not working, so we need to exit Ukraine.

Each of us lied about something in our lives. To say you have not is not being honest with yourself. One thing you must do is not believe your own BS. The first step in coming clean is to admit to yourself you lied or weren’t as truthful as you should have been. Here is a good example – having been in management and consulted with HR, everyone thinks they are a better than average employee. But, that is not possible. The only way to improve is to recognize your shortcomings.

This is one of the challenges for our former president as we often debate if he knows he lies as much as he does as he tells so many sometimes repeatedly. I am reminded of the CBS reporter who finally got tired of a routine misstatement about a law he said he passed and told him you know that law was passed before you became president? He did not know.

We need as much truth as possible from our elected officials. I try hard not to refer to many elected officials as “leaders” as just because they are in a position of leadership, does not make them a leader. Telling the truth will set them apart from the others and free them to walk down the better path.

Wednesday walkabout early in May

What a great day for a walkabout. As I wander, here are a few thoughts I might take with me.

A general thought that I cannot seem to shake is it would be nice for legislators to focus on solving problems and getting something done, rather than grandstand.

To this purpose, it would be helpful if they took the time to study the issues we need to focus on and stop telling us what funders have paid them to do.

It is depressing how low the US Supreme Court has fallen. Not only has it become more political than before, it has added unethical behavior to the mix. Part of the reason is when the needed Senate votes dropped from 60 to 51 to approve someone. As a result, we have people on the court who are more strident in their views.

Stepping away from Washington, we have a more than the two most notorious governors in Florida and Texas who have decided leadership of all citizens is not what they are there for. They have also decided civil rights need not be evenly distributed or warranted. That is shameful in my view.

It would help if all of these folks noted above could spend a little more time with the truth and less time asking for and counting their money. We hear about the flood of people coming across the border, but the real crisis is we are purposefully bottlenecking folks from crossing. While the former president was awful as he created this mess, the current president has not followed through on improving the process.

Whether it is climate change, water, environment, debt, healthcare, et al, let’s focus on the truth and address these issues. And, stop exaggerating or contriving issues that are not that important, but designed to distract voters.

Now, that I have gotten that off my chest, I can finish my walk.

Adding a gun to a mix of testosterone and alcohol yields unwise and lethal behavior

In an article by Edwin Rios in The Guardian called “Texas man fatally shoots five neighbors after noise complaint, sheriff says,” the following paragraphs tell an all-true and common story in America.

“After neighbors complained about the noise he was making, a Texas man went next door with an AR-15-style rifle and shot them, killing five people – including an eight-year-old child – as well as wounding three others at a home in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday night.

Law enforcement patrolling the community more than 40 miles outside of Houston were searching for Francisco Oropeza, 38, who had been intoxicated and fled the scene, the sheriff of San Jacinto county, Greg Capers, told reporters on Saturday.”

Alcohol affects judgment and seems to remove the filter in the brain that stops people from making extremely poor decisions. Testosterone adds to the cocktail, as a drunk male is not the best judge of situations, as the worst of male behavior can more easily appear. Note, I am not giving drunk women a hall pass, but as a 64 year old man, I have witnessed some very unflattering male behavior when heavy drinking is involved.

Yet, when you add access to a gun, then these two ingredients become more toxic and can be lethal. This is a key reason allowing concealed carry of guns is so scary, as the lethal cocktail becomes more possible.

In short, five people, including a child, are dead because the noisy, drunk man had a gun. If he was just a noisy, drunk man, he could have still been offended by being asked to be quieter, yet no one would be dead. He would have likely gotten his lights punched out, at worst, as a drunk man is not the best of fighters. Yet, even a drunk dumb ass can fire a gun.

I am reminded of a man who was drunk at a college football game in Raleigh and was driving dangerously in the parking lot after the game. When two men stopped his car and asked him to be mindful of the kids and adults in the parking lot, the man went home, retrieved his gun and came back and shot the two men. These men stopped him from vehicular manslaughter and a DUI, but he decided to up the ante and murder them.

Although, I don’t know if intoxicated individuals were involved, I just read last night eleven people were shot at a party in a South Carolina park. I don’t know if any of the people died, but they are likely just lucky. It is sad that any outing, especially on weekends, can be dangerous. But, when people get shot in their own home for living next to a noisy, drunk neighbor, that is even more scary.

People who follow this blog know I try not to curse in print, so my reference above is unusual. But, continuing on, we Americans need to ask our legislators to stop being dumb asses and do something very tangible about gun violence. In Tennessee, the legislators fired two fellow legislators who were strongly advocating better gun governance – instead of acting to pass better gun governance, they fired the complainers. Really?

In fact, I will keep the legislators who are blocking action in my thoughts and prayers and maybe they will remember they are parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and act. But, unlike the less than judicious folks in the Tennessee legislature, the actions need to be to improve gun governance not punish those who are advocating for it.

Really?

As a 64 year-old man who has made mistakes throughout his life and is destined to make a few more, I need to throw a proverbially “Really?” question at more than a few public servants.

Justice Clarence Thomas claims he did not know he needed to report the vacation travel gifts of a friend. Really?

Donald Trump’s corporation and its CFO have been recently convicted of tax fraud and he settled a fraud case regarding using his Foundation money for personal purposes, yet folks want to give him hall pass on alleged fraudulent use of money to pay off multiple trysts? Really?

The Tennessee state legislature decided to expel two members of its chambers for leading a protest against gun violence in their state rather than actually debating doing something tangible about it. Really?

We have serious problems that need serious people to solve them. I am long past tired of public officials failing to do their jobs focusing more on zero-sum games to protect one tribe while punishing the other. We Americans are the tribe. Try not to lose sight of that and work on our problems.