Blog – Tuesdays with Mary

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 I went to my mother’s hometown last week for practical reasons.  After our action-packed NS3 conference in Kansas City wrapped up, I drove west to check in on my mother and sister for a few days. What I hadn't fully appreciated was the timing. My brother came from Colorado, and our aunt and uncle were hosting a family reunion in the park; bringing together a sprawling network of cousins, spouses, children, grandchildren, and stories that extend far beyond the people I grew up knowing well.  There were more than 40 of us by the time the [...]

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 Land, Title and Ownership in America at 250 series Texas has always occupied a distinct place in the American story; not entirely Southern, not entirely Western, and never fully willing to surrender the idea that it once stood on its own. That independent streak is woven into its property system as much as its politics and personality. Unlike most states admitted to the Union, Texas entered with control of its own public lands intact. The federal government did not absorb them. Texas kept them; and that decision shaped everything from schools and infrastructure to mineral wealth, [...]

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 The energy at conferences is always hardest to explain to people who are not there. From the outside, it can all seem fairly interchangeable. Hotel meeting rooms. Name badges. Panels. Coffee stations. A few days “away” from the office, though it never stays completely behind does it? And honestly, after the last several years, most of us have become very good at convincing ourselves we can accomplish nearly everything remotely anyway.  So why bother?  Why take on the expense? We can stay informed from anywhere now. We can stream educational sessions, skim summaries, listen to podcasts [...]

Tuesday, May 12, 2026 Land, Title and Ownership in America at 250 series By the early 1800s, the United States was expanding faster than its legal system could comfortably manage. The Revolution had ended decades earlier, the Constitution was in place, and new territories were steadily opening to settlement and speculation. Americans increasingly viewed land ownership as central to both economic opportunity and the identity of the young republic. Yet beneath the optimism and momentum sat a problem that had not been fully resolved: who actually possessed the legal authority to transfer land ownership within the United States? A deed [...]

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 Last week, I wrote about the idea of knowing your elected representatives. There’s a parallel connection closer to home that’s just as important; knowing your state regulators. When elected officials set direction, regulators live in the details. They interpret, implement, and enforce. They’re closer to the day-to-day realities of the market (and ideally) they’re informed by them. At their best, these relationships aren’t inherently adversarial. They’re also practical.  A healthy marketplace depends on a few things happening at the same time: rules that are clear and workable, enforcement that is consistent, and communication that doesn’t break [...]

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 In the past week, I’ve heard from friends all across the political spectrum, each pointing me to Ben Sasse’s recent 60 Minutes interview.  The former U.S. Senator Sasse is purposefully sharing many of his thoughts with us; from the vantage point of his battle with terminal cancer.  Here’s a link to the extended interview, where he discusses citizenship, AI, human nature, and all manner of questions associated with the messiness of being a person on the planet today. If you don’t follow his podcast, Not Dead Yet, I’d recommend it, too. He speaks with a kind [...]

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 There’s a pattern that’s becoming harder to ignore, and it shows up in places that don’t seem connected at first. In driving, we’re starting to rely on systems that can take over enough of the task that you stop thinking about them. Mile after mile, everything works exactly as it should. And then, when something goes wrong, the expectation is that the human was paying close attention the entire time; and is responsible when they weren’t. The system performs well enough to change behavior…but not well enough to take responsibility for it. In the legal world, [...]

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 There are places you visit and enjoy, and then there are places that stay with you, that feel extra special.  Sometimes it’s because of the memories the place holds, sometimes it’s because of its beauty, and sometimes it’s because of how they’re designed.  Once in a great while, you find a place with all of those elements. For me, our National Mall is one of those amazing places. I found myself thinking about it over coffee this morning. Not about any one monument, but about the way they relate to each other. The spacing, the lines, [...]

Tuesday, April 7, 2026 There’s a story economist Russ Roberts tells; one that has stayed with me, even if the details blur over time. An economist travels to Russia shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. He books a hotel conference space months in advance. Everything is agreed to. Contracts signed. Plans made.  And then, shortly before the event, the hotel cancels. Another group came along and offered more money, and the space was simply resold. There was no apology in the way we might expect. No real sense that anything improper had happened. No damages to pursue in [...]

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 Land, Title and Ownership in America at 250 series In 1803, the United States agreed to purchase a vast stretch of land from France; a transaction that would double the size of the young nation almost overnight. It is often remembered as a moment of vision and opportunity, and it was. It was also a decision made ahead of clarity. Even at the time, there were real questions about whether the Constitution allowed it, whether the United States could effectively govern it, and what, exactly, had just been acquired. What came with the Louisiana Purchase extended well [...]