Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss

Condoleeza Rice Secretary of State as honorary bench coach Stanford v Kansas December

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” former Trump administation Secretary of Defense, and Hoover fellow James Mattis writes, for The Atlantic. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

The Atlantic, we note, is owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, whose offices at Emerson Project are here in Palo Alto. She also hired Gunn graduate George Packer, son of law professor Packer and writing teacher Nancy Packer to write for The Atlantic. I learned of this missive just now while watching Fox News. The article says it was published earlier today. Similarly, it was reported that Secretary Espers is refusing to use the military to suppress protest in Washington, D.C. It’s sort of a red herring but I noted that Morgan and Amercian Express and Apple are boarded up — and my news stand Mac’s Smokeshop, but Ms. Powell Jobs tasteful office is not. Palo Alto is under a 8:30 curfew. I do note however that Ms. Powell Jobs building previously was the Nevada Building that once had the office of poet laureate (and Stanford Steger fellow) Al Young. I hope the protests stay peaceful tonite. Also, I posted on PAW that this reminds me of Spike Lee, 1989 “Do The Right Thing”. Helen Sung, and excuse my segue, sent something about a Mingus piece based on the German philosopher who opposed the Nazi’s and the “when the came for the Unionists, I did not object”. Also, shout out to Gunn High’s Jessica Zang, JZ, who writes for the Weekly and has seven posts, 30,000 readers and 125 comments. She broke the story locally that the protests can happen here. Not to tip my hand, I want to know what Marcus Shelby, who was on the books for April 18 at The Mitch, thinks of all this. What motivates him to do the work that he does, with his bass, as a composer, and a band leader, and a leader? edit to add: from Hoover website: General Jim Mattis, US Marine Corps (Ret.), is the Davies Family Distinguished Fellow, after having served as the nation’s 26th Secretary of Defense in the administration. In December of 2016, President Donald J. Trump nominated Mattis for Secretary of Defense and he was confirmed a month later. Mattis left Hoover to apply his knowledge and experience to help the President shape his national defense policy. General Mattis commanded at multiple levels in his forty-three year career as an infantry Marine. As a lieutenant in the western Pacific, he served as a rifle and weapons platoon commander in the Third Marine Division. As a captain in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, he commanded a rifle company and a weapons company in the First Marine Brigade. As a major he was the battalion officer at the Naval Academy Prep School and commanded Marine recruiters in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. As a lieutenant colonel he commanded an assault battalion breaching the Iraqi minefields in Operation Desert Storm. As a colonel he commanded 7th Marine Regiment and, on Pentagon duty, he served as the Department of Defense Executive Secretary. As a brigadier general he was the Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Following 9-11 he commanded the First Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Naval Task Force 58 in operations against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. As a major general, he commanded the First Marine Division during the initial attack and subsequent stability operations in Iraq. In his first tour as a lieutenant general, he was in charge of Marine Corps Combat Development at Quantico and subsequently served as Commander, I Marine Expeditionary Force/Commander, U.S. Marine Forces in the Middle East. As a general he served concurrently as the Commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command and as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation. Before retiring in 2013 he was the Commander of U.S. Central Command, directing military operations of over 200,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, Marines and allied forces across the Middle East. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead, and the co-editor of the book, Warriors & Citizens: American Views of Our Military. I saw a video of James N. Mattis talking in the locker room to the Stanford basketball team. I will also, weird segue, add a photo from this winter Condi Rice as a special bench coach for Stanford Men’s basketball. Can I mention here that Michael McFaul has a son who played hoops for Gunn?

edit to ad: I met Peter Robinson my fellow Dartmouthian twice, Once anonymously at Coupa near green (!) library And then for real with Terry in Carmel precisely at 6 o’clock bells at the mission.  He was wearing a Dartmouth cap but it stood out because it had sheriffs I mean serifs. 
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Condi bench coach maneuvers— Stanford lost to powerhouse Kansas :