Secretary of State and Salary: Antony Blinken $221,400 per year
Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request: $58.5 Billion
State Department Staffing: over 13,000 foreign service staff, over 11,000 civil service employees, over 45,000 locally employed staff
Mission: The mission of the Department of State is to represent America’s foreign policy abroad, and to advance the interests and security of the American people.
The Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity.
Creation: July 27, 1789 as the Department of Foreign Affairs
Historical Facts: September 26, 1789 - Thomas Jefferson becomes first Secretary of State
December 4, 1821 - The United States acquired its first foreign property as a gift from Sultan Moulay Suleiman of Morocco in Tangiers
July 1, 1862 - The internal revenue act charged a fee for the first time to acquire a passport
January 1, 1866 Secretary of State William ...
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
What plays a greater role in success luck or habits?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Poet, Critic, Philosopher
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the most gifted literary minds of his generation. A poet, critic, and philosopher, he possessed extraordinary intellectual abilities. Yet his life was marked by unfinished projects, difficulties with discipline, and an increasingly destructive dependence on opium.
Coleridge produced some of the most memorable poetry in English literature, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. But he also struggled to translate his ambitious intellectual plans into completed works. His friends recognized his extraordinary abilities, even as they witnessed the difficulties that prevented him from consistently applying them.
Unlike Sydney Carton, Coleridge achieved lasting recognition. Nevertheless, both men illustrate the distance that can exist between ability and accomplishment.
Consider the comparison. Was Coleridge's potential diminished by his inability to complete everything he envisioned?
...
