(Best enjoyed with a Old Fashioned, a cigar, and at least one spouse rolling her eyes.)
Cold-Humor Opener:
If the world feels like it’s been run by toddlers with power tools lately, fear not: real leadership still exists, and it wears a blazer, swings a golf club, and occasionally pardons poultry.
This first weekend of December gave us both — executive orders, national strategy resets, Kennedy Center glam, a Pearl Harbor tribute, and a Presidential chip shot at foreign policy weak spots.
Meanwhile, I wrapped up this edition with a Chrisi-engineered MB Roland Old Fashioned while watching Land Man and loudly insisting I could absolutely run an oil company.
(Chrisi disagreed. Strongly.)
Let’s tee up the lessons.
WEEKEND LESSONS TEED UP
(Dec 5–7, 2025)
Lesson 1 — Strategy, Sovereignty, and a Foreign Policy with Teeth
(Friday, Dec 5)
President Trump kicked off the weekend by dropping an updated National Security Strategy that basically told the world:
“We’re done being polite — America is now playing offense.”
Highlights:
• A profit-driven foreign policy that demands every handshake come with a balance sheet.
• A bold “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, signaling that the Western Hemisphere is now a “no freeloaders, no funny business” zone.
• A Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day proclamation delivered with the seriousness that moment deserves.
• A presidential memo to align U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer nations — meaning more transparency, less bureaucracy, and fewer lobbyists pretending to be pediatricians.
Then, as only Trump can do, he capped off national strategy with a performance that shocked exactly no one:
He delivered remarks at an Andrea Bocelli concert like he was introducing the heavyweight champion of the world.
Even Melania looked impressed — even if she told her husband, “No, you cannot remove the Christmas trees to make room for more guests.”
Leadership Takeaway:
If you don’t define your strategy, your enemies will.
Lesson 2 — Medals, Music Legends, and a Federal Crackdown on Food Games
(Saturday, Dec 6)
Saturday belonged to the Kennedy Center Honors, where Trump handed out medals like a 5-star general promoting the troops.
This year’s honorees weren’t just famous — they were America tattooed on vinyl:
• Sylvester Stallone
• Gloria Gaynor
• George Strait
• Kiss
• Michael Crawford
Trump called them “perhaps the most accomplished class ever assembled,” and honestly — when George Strait and Kiss are in the same room, you half-expect the ceiling to split open and the national anthem to play unprompted.
But between the applause and cowboy hats, Trump signed a serious executive order to stop:
• Price fixing
• Anti-competitive behavior
• Foreign manipulation of the U.S. food supply chain
This included new task forces targeting shady nonsense in seeds, fertilizer, and farm equipment — basically telling every corrupt ag-industry middleman:
“Try to gouge Americans again and we’ll hit you harder than Kiss hits a power chord.”
Meanwhile, I was watching THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES being beaten by Indiana in the Big Ten Championship. Pain eased slightly thanks to Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, who delivered a postgame gem:
“I wanna give all the glory to God. We were never supposed to be in this position, but by the glory of God, great coaches, and great teammates, everyone we had around us, we were able to pull this off. Whoever thought the Hoosiers would be here? But now the Hoosiers are flippin’ champs!”
Leadership Takeaway:
A great leader can honor Stallone at 2 PM and still take a swing at corporate crooks by 4 PM.
Lesson 3 — Honor, Inflation, and a Supreme Court Sunday Surprise
(Sunday, Dec 7 — Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day)
Sunday opened on a solemn note as Americans paused for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Trump led the nation in honoring the Greatest Generation — the men who defined grit before we started selling it on t-shirts.
Then the day turned political:
• Trump and the First Lady arrived at the Kennedy Center for the weekend’s main event.
• A fresh wave of media analysis blasted inflation and polled Americans on whether his economic policies were helping or hurting.
(CNN reported 61% were unhappy — still fewer than the number unhappy with CNN.)
• His renewed push for a healthcare plan hit resistance in Congress.
• And the Supreme Court issued opinions, including one letting the administration halt gender-identity passport markings.
Leadership Takeaway:
Being President is like golf: some days you’re 2-under, some days you’re in the bunker arguing with a sand wedge.
Lesson 4 — Grit, Golf, and Why America Needs a Better Short Game
Amid policy battles, media noise, and Supreme Court rulings, the best leaders still find a way to reset.
For Trump, that usually means golf.
For me, that usually means golf, a cigar, and pretending I could absolutely beat George Strait in a chipping contest.
This weekend didn’t bring viral swing clips, but it brought the bigger truth:
Golf is the meeting room where America remembers what calm feels like.
And if America wants to endure?
We all need a better short game — politically and athletically.
Leadership Takeaway:
Think long. Swing smart. And don’t three-putt your future.
Wrap-Up — Patriotism, Pearl Harbor, and a MB Roland Old Fashioned with Chrisi
As Sunday night settled in, with Pearl Harbor tributes playing across every network, Chrisi handed me a MB Roland Single Barrel Old Fashioned so perfect it could broker Middle East peace.
I lit a Deployment Honor cigar, hit play on Land Man, and for a brief moment believed:
• I could run an oil company
• I could negotiate an oil deal
• I could rope a runaway steer
• I could survive one (1) day without Chrisi supervising
She disagreed. Firmly.
Still, the bourbon hit, the cigar honored the moment, and the heroes of 1941 reminded us:
Grit isn’t a word.
It’s a responsibility.
REMEMBER, PATRIOTS:
• Build strategy like a President, not a pundit.
• Protect your supply chain like you protect your backyard smoker.
• Honor heroes — from Pearl Harbor to today’s troops.
• And above all…
Never play life safe. Play it like a tight dogleg on a windy day —
with conviction, courage, and a grin big enough to scare your caddie.
— Chuck Cordak
“Life’s too short for weak coffee, weak swings, or weak leadership.”
FOOTNOTES:
- Breitbart – Trump’s National Security Strategy Update, Dec 5, 2025.
- Kennedy Center Honors Recipients 2025, White House Press Release.
- CBS Sports – Big Ten Championship: Indiana Upsets Ohio State, Dec 6, 2025.
- CNN Poll, Dec 7, 2025 – 61% of Americans report economic dissatisfaction.
- DeploymentCigars.com – Deployment Honor Series.
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