Blackwater security firm changing

The notoriously controversial private security firm Blackwater is changing its name, its products and its chief. The new name is Xe; the new products are drastically scaled down; the new CEO is unnamed at this time. I wonder if there will also be a new level of responsible reporting and accountability. To read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123595280053605191.html

Be convicted but not close-minded!

What do I mean? Well, thanks for asking; here's what I mean:

We are convicted that love really is better than hate; that violence really does not work, and always leads to more violence; that it is better to focus on giving instead of getting. We are convicted that diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without.

When we live these convictions, the hungry are fed, the homeless sheltered, the sick cared for, the grieving comforted, the lost welcomed and the children protected. These are the convictions that make the world more peaceful and life-giving.

At the same time, we are not close-minded. We know that we don't have the corner on truth. And we know that ignoring the truths to be learned elsewhere only belittles the truths to which we hold.

Crisis is a terrible thing to waste

Yea, another bandwagon I'm on: using the phrase, "A crisis is a terrible thing to waste."

Who said it, or something similar, first? Maybe economist Paul Romer. A quick look shows the selection of those using the phrase, or something close includes

Thomas Friedman (New York Times, 18 April 2004)
Eliot Spitzer (January 2005)
Arthur Affleck (February 2006)
Geoff Davis (April 2007)
John Lee (July 2008)
Hazel Henderson (September 2008 - good article this one)
Tim Dollmeyer (October 2008)
Richard Heinberg (October 2008)
Max McKeown (October 2008)

So, what does it mean?

Nathan