Thanksgiving Day: a Perspective for Gratitude.
America comes to table today, tables, for the most part, laden with individual expressions of a common menu, a metaphor for the nation itself. America pauses today, if but for a moment, in collective recognition that despite our differences and our problems, we have many reasons to be grateful. Law, thankfully, has little to do with Thanksgiving. A shared day of Thanksgiving is one of our oldest national traditions, but the federal Thanksgiving Day holiday was not established until 1941. It’s been my own tradition (for one year anyway) to examine our national legal holidays. A rich tradition of suggestions that we be grateful, suggestions contained in years of

Colorado’s Declining Competitiveness
Lean and mean. The well-worn aphorism is wearing thinner in this economy, but I admit it’s what came to mind when I read “Toward a More Competitive Colorado,” the 5th annual study by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (MDEDC) of our economy relative to the other 49 states. Lean and mean seems to put us in a better relative position in the current crisis, but after reading the report, I fear we are lean, mean and stupid. Tom Clark, MDEDC executive vice president, and his organization don’t pull punches. The second paragraph of the

Live, from the Angel Capital Summit
The Setup Wouldn't it be great to have a rich friend or two who wanted to invest in your business? Not a handout, but a real investment expecting real returns. Why would they do this? Because they believe in you and your business. That's the idea behind so called "angel investors," wealthy individuals or groups of wealthy individuals investing their own money in entrepreneurial companies. You can distinguish them from venture capitalists and private equity funds, which use other people's money under professional management. Today I am attending the third annual Angel Capital Summit in Denver, and, in complet

Veterans Day: How Many Days are Enough?
Part 5 in a series on “legal” holidays This one strikes closest to home. More so even than the debt the nation owes our veterans, I owe two vets, my parents, for my existence and for inspiring my accomplishments. Veterans Day, thankfully, is generally well-observed, with many personal and societal ceremonies and tributes, even if it is not a day-off for many. That military service is a sacrifice borne by few for the benefit of many is all too clear this year. So, as legal holidays go, we seem to do right by Veterans Day; I’m more concerned about the other 364 days, but first the legal history. Originally Armistice Day, the 11th day of the

Opportunity, the Blessing of Independence Day
For food, for raiment, For life, for opportunity, For friendship and fellowship, We thank Thee, O Lord. (The Philmont Grace) My four summers on the Philmont Staff bound me to those words forever. The fact that my daughters picked it up at a Staff reunion and now say it at most evening meals gives me further opportunity to reflect on the grace. Philmont, I should add for my non-Scouting readers, is the premier High Adventure camp of the Boy Scout of America, each summer attracting thousands of young men and women for backpacking and unforgettable experiences.