Strategic Thinking
In 1960, Congress passed the Sikes Act, which requires the Department of Defense to protect natural resources on military installations. The act directs DoD to partner with other agencies to conserve biodiversity and take necessary steps to protect endangered species.
This brilliant stroke was the brainchild of the late Rep. Robert Sikes (D-FL), whose district included the mammoth Eglin AFB, which covers 725 square miles. Sikes probably understood that military installations are unique and important habitats. They are sprawling properties, largely off limits to the public, where all kinds of flora and fauna can flourish.
The Sikes Act has been a major success. DoD property is used regularly to help endangered species recover. And DoD has a built-in incentive to cooperate: if a species thrives and no longer is endangered, restrictions on the base go away.
Trust, but Verify
The phrase "Trust, but verify" is mostly associated with Ronald Reagan, who used it often when dealing with Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. (Gorbachev, a good guy, was succeeded by a couple of dunderheads and then Putin.)
The phrase, in fact, is a Russian proverb, introduced to Reagan by Suzanne Massie, a scholar of Russian history. Doveryai, no proveryai, is the proverb, which, you will observe, rhymes.
On the regular occasions when Reagan trotted out the phrase, Gorbachev often replied with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was popular in Russia when Gorbachev was in college. One was, "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it."
Massie badly wanted to be Reagan's Ambassador to Russia, but didn't get the job. Her admiration of Russian culture, however, was deep and genuine. In 2021, she went to Moscow and publicly asked Putin to grant her Russian citizenship. He complied.
Presidential Firsts
George Washington (1732-1799) the first US president, served two terms from 1789 to 1797. Notably, he did so as a non-partisan; he is the only president who had no affiliation with a political party.
In addition, Washington is the only president who never lived in the White House — mainly because it wasn't built yet. In 1791, during his first term, he picked the site on Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1792, a design was selected, and construction began.
The White House was finished in 1800. Its first occupants were the second president, John Adams, and his wife Abigail.
But Washington didn't see the project completed. He died one year too soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment