Weekly Reading: the Fugees, ISIS, Happiness and the Death of a Diplomatic Legend

Killing the Islamic State Softly Military power will win battles in Syria and Iraq, but only soft power can win the war
The prolific Stavridis makes his argument for soft power against ISIS--bottom line--it won't be cheap.

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness
A decent (albeit long-winded) TED-ish speech on an INCREDIBLE and fascinating 75 year study on happiness.  Short answer: the most valuable thing you can do is invest in close relationships with family and friends.  Loneliness kills...literally.

YOUR HOLIDAY READING LIST: 58 BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY TED SPEAKERS
It's a good and interesting list to consider.

The Arts and the Military
Great deep thoughts from a Naval Academy classmate on civil-military relations.  He's got a great website/blog that he writes at--check it out.

What Would Cool Jesus Do? Inside Hillsong Church NYC
I never expect GQ to be so even-handed in an article about a Protestant movement/church but the author was--a fascinating look into the leadership of the Hillsong church..and Justin Bieber.

The 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires
Really this is just a depressing article...10 ideas a day?  Who has time for that?  Who even has 10 ideas a month or a year?  ...I guess millionaires?

Call to battle’: Catholic bishop challenges men to be ‘men’ in awesome new video
Great call for men to be leaders in loving their families.

The CNO Puts it to Paper
The Navy's top admiral makes his pitch for the United States to maintain maritime superiority.  It's a quick read worthy of some thought.

The U.S. diplomatic corps loses a legend just when it needs him the most
A fitting requiem for diplomatic great Ambassador Bosworth.  A worthwhile read and summary of his myriad accomplishments.

New Protester of the Week: Singer Actress Doris Day?

I have been remiss in highlighting a Protester of the Week for some time and wanted to start my week off right with a quick profile highlighting ridiculing one of these foolish loons gentlemen. 

This morning was a breezy and cool, fall-Navy-Football kind of morning.  Given the phenomenal weather I wasn’t surprised to see 7 ‘Prots’ manning the rails.  All the usual suspects were there with the usual frenetic signs linking the woes of the world to Christians dumping camels in Palestine and other such nonsense. 

But there was a new sign out there today written on a sizable, clean white poster board in legible black magic-marker handwriting.  It read:

“Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy rotten system. –Dorothy Day”

A quick moment of self-deprecation:  I thought I knew who Dorothy Day was.  And so as I walked into the PGON I shook my head because I thought this was a really weird thing for her to say.  Once I got to my computer and googled her though I realized that I am an idiot because I thought this woman was Dorothy Day.

Note: the above picture is Doris Day, a noted singer and TV personality. 

It turns out that Dorothy Day was a one-time-anarchist, pacifist and matron/founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.   While I may not agree with everything in which she believed, I can’t argue that she wasn’t someone who worked tirelessly for the poor and oppressed her entire life, remaining a fierce critic of capitalism (ugh) and consumerism (ugh but acceptable).  To that end, she is under consideration with the Catholic church for sainthood.  This is Dorothy: