I'm baaaack!

It's been a long, long, long time since I've updated this blog. The last time I wrote a post, Mitt Romney lost the presidential election and I was, frankly, depressed. Not that I was a Romney fan (not in any way, shape or form), but I just didn't want (nor did our country need), another four years of one of the most hollow presidents in history. Oh well. Now we're into another presidential race. I'm kind of semi-retired from politics, so I won't be writing a lot about it. I've discovered my true calling: freelance content/policy writing and editing. Strategies, op-eds, plans, speeches, ad copy, etc. It's fun. Not only have I "found myself", I got engaged (August 24, 2015) to the most wonderful woman in the world (Jennifer), worked for FEMA as a technical writer in support of Hurricane Sandy recovery (2013-2015), and moved to beautiful Mishawaka, Indiana. That's right. Mishawaka. The Princess City. Ok. You've never heard of it. I hadn't either, but it's right next to South Bend (home of Notre Dame University). There's lake effect snow. Super nice people. And, a chance to start a new chapter in our life. I hope you'll tune in for my updates. In the meantime, check out some of my other "ramblings" on LinkedIn, Twitter, and my website.

"il" to "Un" in a Day

It's happened. North Korea's Kim Jong-il is dead and the future of the country is, once again, in question. The "Great Successor", Kim Jong-Un is poised to lead the prison camp of a country, so what will he do?

Of course, no one could possibly predict with certainty what will happen there, but it's safe to say that North Korea will probably do something crazy to get people to pay attention to it. Wait, they just fired some short-range missiles into the sea. So there you have it. Now what's next?

Un's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, will be his consigliere and, hopefully, will guide the young prince/dictator/general into a place of stability (doubt it). Because this is a familial succession and Un is in his late 20s, there will be some palace intrigue and scary times ahead in the near term. Is a twenty-something prepared to lead a country of 24 million people with nuclear weapons? Will the military assert itself to maintain stability? Will Un just follow his father's feckless "diplomatic" policies (as was seen with the missile launch)?

Or, could there be hope that this young man, who may have been exposed to events and technologies from the outside world, will have a different view about North Korea's place? It's been reported that his father liked the finer things in life (like most dictators), so maybe Un had access to computers and international news. Maybe Un saw what has been going on in the Middle East. Maybe Un knows his way around Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and YouTube. Maybe, just maybe, his youth could be an advantage to the country. If he has the self-confidence to control the military and the party, it could be possible (but not likely) that Un could liberalize things (beginning with feeding his own people) and possibly open up channels with South Korea, Japan (??) and other Asian countries with an eye towards normalization with the West. Naive? Probably, but one can dream...