Friday Donuts

Friends, Is  patriotism love of country or pride in country? True love is incompatible with fear and hate. Pride, on the other hand, is not. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins -the opposite of humility. Pride also comes before a fall. So, does your patriotism include the fear (and potentially hatred) of other countries? If so, there’s a better word for it: Nationalism, patriotism’s ugly sibling. Nationalism leads to isolation, stagnation and, ultimately, war. When it comes down to brass tacks, it’s really a form of populism (the manipulative circus of “us vs. them”). Since the suffix “ism” can be good or bad –depending on how it’s used—this morning I thought I’d conduct an experiment. I have mixed things up and brought-in a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts to find-out how you define Donutism. I’d like to see whether you embrace these new Donuts, or whether you discriminate against them for not being Holy Donuts. Happy Friday! 

Friends, With Valentine’s day just behind us, this morning I thought I’d attempt to write a love poem. Here goes nothing: My eyes have gazed and seen perfection Your curves so tight Your aroma fills me with intoxication My impulses, I can’t fight When I can’t see you, I long for the day Your absence is torture Yet fate has decided that only Friday The day of good fortune Though my thoughts may wander a plenty When writing about thee Without you my words would ring empty You’re fulfillment to me You’re here and I feel the elation So comely and sweet Your sugar will increase my elevation My donuts, my treat! Alright, I’ll keep the day job. Happy Friday!

Friends, Consistency is important. I’m not talking about how soggy oatmeal or crunchy bacon feel in your mouth. It’s more the relationship between the white dress and the bride at a wedding or the questions that inevitably come-up when you see that advertisement for a $5,000 2016 Cadillac Escalade. We expect consistency and when it’s not there, we wonder why. For instance, when I was commuting between the Detroit and the Dallas NetEx sales kick-offs this week I stopped for dinner at a place in the Houston airport called The Local . As you might expect from the name, they boast all-natural, local , farm-grown, sustainable products whenever possible. Consistent. However, front-and-center at every table you see a bottle of Icelandic glacial water. Can you guess where it comes from? –hint, it’s not Houston. You guessed it, Iceland! You’d think if anything can be sourced locally, that would be water. Or, take the Supreme car wash. My car was extra dirty this week. So dirty, in fact that

Friends, Looking back at the news this week, a couple of two-word phrases stand-out. Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Option . Ignore, if you would, the context in which these catchy monikers were used –winner at Texas hold ‘em tournament and senate rules for supreme court confirmation, respectively. Just put them together and what do you get? You got it! The stage is set for the dystopian events that form the foundation for the movie Terminator. Skynet becomes self-aware (AI) and launches a literal preemptive Nuclear Option against humanity. Just add time travel. As it happens, yesterday was groundhog day… and in that movie, Bill Murray gets stuck in a time loop, forced to relive February 2 nd  - a form of time travel. Eerie! Also eerie, is the fact that, like last week, we have Holy Donuts this morning. Alright, that may be a tad of a stretch. In any event come enjoy a sweet treat (I would have brought Nachos Supreme and bacon-wrapped bacon, but with no team to root or in the