04/19/22 BEWARE! – Radically Rational

04/19/22 BEWARE!

Just as a legal matter, it would seem to me that airlines have a right to impose mask mandates if they so desire. Where am I wrong? And wouldn’t recognizing the rights of a company to run its business be a Conservative principle?

This is an interesting case. Shawnee State University in Ohio is going to scratch a check to one of its philosophy professors for $400,000. The professor filed a lawsuit against the university in 2018 after he was disciplined for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns. The professor claimed in the lawsuit that his religious rights were being violated. The university has now elected to settle the suit for 400-grand, and the professor is now free to use or not use pronouns of his choice. Here’s the interesting part. The university still maintains that the professor’s refusal to use the student’s preferred pronouns did in fact create a hostile learning environment and that the professor’s religious beliefs were not violated in any way. The university then candidly admitted it’s forking over 400 G’s just to make the case go away.

It’s April 19. I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to hide under my desk today. Consider:

April 19, 1985—Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist group The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas. The CSA surrendered two days later.

April 19, 1989—A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.

April 19, 1993—The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco ends when a fire breaks out, killing 168 76 Davidians, including 18 children under the age of ten.

April 19, 1995—The Oklahoma City Bombing of the Murrah Federal Building kills 168, including 19 children under the age of six.

April 19, 2000—Air Philippines Flight 541 crashes, killing all 131 people onboard.

April 19, 2013—Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police

April 19, 2020—A killing spree in Nova Scotia leaves 22 people and the perpetrator dead, making it the deadliest rampage in Canadian history.

Be careful out there.

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Paul's Bio

I clearly have the attention span of your median fruit fly.Look! Airplane!

Sorry. I’m back.

It’s both a curse and a blessing. I’ve never bought this stuff about, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But I do think that a wide range of life experiences helps us grow as people, and helps us better relate to other people. I’ve been fortunate. And I am beyond grateful.

I show up on time. I go like hell. I’m a good listener. I hold myself accountable. I own my mistakes. And I have a natural and an insatiable curiosity. I’m never afraid to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t. But then I try to find out.

The flip side is I’m a lousy ballroom dancer and my clothes sometimes fit me funny.

Stuff matters to me. I care. But while I take that stuff seriously, I try hard to never take myself seriously. As a result, I have sometimes been told, “Paul, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious and when you’re just having some fun. Which is it? Serious or fun?”

My answer is “yes.” But I think that is a legitimate criticism. I promise I’m going to work on that.

This has been the quickest and strangest half-century I’ve ever experienced. During that period, I’ve been afforded amazing opportunities in news and sports journalism across all platforms. I have taught wonderful students at the high school and collegiate level. Always, I learned more from them than they did from me. I’ve been a high school administrator. I spent ten seasons as a high school varsity football coach. I’ve been an advertising executive. I’ve hosted nationally syndicated television entertainment shows. In maybe the biggest honor I ever received, I was selected by NASA to be “Chet The Astronaut” for the “Land The Shuttle” simulator at Space Center Houston. (All I can say there, is “Do as I say, not as I do.” I put that thing in the Everglades more often than not.) Most recently, I just wrapped up a decade as a television news director, during which time our teams distinguished themselves in holding the powerful accountable, achieving both critical and ratings success.

What does all that mean? It means I am profoundly grateful. It also means I’m ready for “next.” So here we are. Radically Rational. It’s an idea I woke up with in 2017. I scribbled “Radically Rational” on a piece of notebook paper and used a magnet to stick it on our refrigerator. I saw it every day, and it just would not leave me alone.

I am second in charge at Radically Rational, LLC. My wife, Jo (also known as BB), is the president. Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to sleep my way to the top of this organization.

I hope you will learn that I’m loyal as a Labrador. But I will admit that this doggie can bite every now and then. My promise to you? I will show up on time. I will go like hell. I will listen to you earnestly and attentively. I will hold myself accountable. I will never be the least bit hesitant to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t.

But then I’ll try to find out. Let’s do it.