01/06/23 Two years later, the assault on our Capitol and Constitution continues.

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January 6, 2021 was the darkest and most existentially threatening day in our nation’s post-Civil War history.

Hyperbole? I don’t think so. Previous crises have posed dire foreign threats to our homeland, taking American lives and challenging American resolve.

But on January 6, 2021, Americans tried to take down America, and they came perilously close to succeeding. Our flag is not our nation. Neither is our anthem.

Our Constitution is our nation. The rule of law is our nation. The peaceful transfer of power is our nation. And we almost lost the farm as we attacked us. This was an inside job. This was fratricide. This was the darkest and most existentially threatening day in our nation’s post-Civil War history.

We survived the immediate attack. But our recovery has been rocky and our prognosis remains uncertain.

Fortunately, a life-saving drug is available to us. Truth. Truth is the regimen back to national health. But we have to have the courage, faith and humility to take the treatment.

Here’s the truth. January 6, 2021 was a premeditated, coordinated assault on both our physical Capitol and our national soul. It was incited by our nation’s president. It was a deadly armed insurrection whose intent was to overturn the results of a fair election and illegally keep a defeated president in power.

By definition, that was an attempted coup. By definition, that was an attempt to overthrow the government of the United States.

Fast forward exactly two years. Driven by essentially the same zealots, there is another assault on our Capitol, continuing even as I write. This one is being waged in the House Chamber. And this assault is every bit as perilous as the one we barely fended off 730 days ago. Once again, this is we trying to take down us. This is an inside job. This is fratricide.

We’re not going to get well until we are brave enough to hook up to a national chemotherapy IV of truth and facts.

We have to stop the lies.

We have to bring facts back into fashion.

We have to make simple sanity sexy again.

And we have to defeat crazy, in all forms, in whatever direction it’s coming from.

Crazy is the enemy.

Crazy is not cool.

Being radical is no vice in the pursuit of rational thought and action.

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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.