If you want to dive in or just test the water, Universala Esperanto Metodo offers a course that uses only Esperanto. In fact, that entire site is interesting and quite good, though other parts require knowing Esperanto, unlike the introductory course at the link. The broader site includes, for example, a list of story titles that link to the text of the stories (in Esperanto).

Check it out. Lernu Esperanton.

Watch his latest video.

I recall that, when I read that, I thought it was a good aphorism. Later, I realized that Lyndon probably meant exactly what he said, and that he had so honed his natural political talent through practice and experience that he could literally do that. It was not just a hyperbolic anecdote but a factual description of how someone really good at politics views a room.

I’ll add that I see people pinning their hopes on the November midterms as what will deliver the US from the Trump tyranny. The problem is that the forces now controlling the US government — the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress, with the Supreme Court (which granted Trump immunity) — are well aware that the November midterms are a singular point of vulnerability: their Achilles’ heel.

It is naïve to believe that, given how much the November midterms threaten them, they are not taking all possible steps to control the outcome. The very large armed force that Trump has created — the ICE expansion and the support of Border Patrol — and now controls, will undoubtedly prove useful to ensure that the results of the midterms do not stop the Trump takeover of America.

Bottom line: Trump and his minions absolutely know the midterms are a threat to them, and they will do everything in their considerable and growing power to counter that threat.

The GOP added $1 trillion to the national debt in just 21 days last fall. The GOP loves taxcuts that benefit the wealthy, regardless of what happens to the national debt.

And after watching that, watch what Heather Cox Richardson has to say about it. (She first spends a good amount of time setting up a framework and context to show how important the speech it, but what she has to say definitely pays off.)

Performance reviews can be time-consuming, costly, and not always useful. But what if changing one word could result in better guidance?

According to research by Harvard Business School Associate Professor Ashley Whillans, requesting “advice” instead of the more common “feedback” can lead to more tangible and practical recommendations in performance reviews. The change seems small, but asking for advice prompts reviewers to focus on future outcomes rather than past actions.

“Our findings demonstrate that employees with a future focus deliver more concrete developmental input, which trained, independent raters evaluate as more actionable and useful,” write Whillans and an international team of researchers from academia and business. . .

Continue reading. The article includes quite a few charts and examples.